


Seeing Stars

by MindlessIdeologist



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-01
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-25 08:31:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/950959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindlessIdeologist/pseuds/MindlessIdeologist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an Offshoot Timeline, Jade does not succumb to The Condesce's mind control, but her powers glitch- transporting the Humans, Kanaya, Terezi and Karkat to an Alternate universe- one without Sburb, Alien races, and it seems... normal.<br/>This is evidenced by the three Trolls mysteriously becoming human.</p><p>With mysteriously-received money, the group must (re)adjust to Human life, enrolling in College courses and other 'normal' things.<br/>They still can't escape the Nightmares that taunt them, a memory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to try my hand at a Multi-chapter fanfiction, it's something I haven't done before. It also is my first JohnDave- and my first Homestuck- Fanfiction.
> 
> The Trolls will most likely retain a dialogue(When speaking) in the same manner as their quirks, but they'll most likely fluctuate depending on the situation.  
> Inspired by:  
> [ The Finer Details of Gay Cluckbeast](http://archiveofourown.org/works/244127)  
> [ The Moon Asked The Crow ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/272107)  
> [ Silence is Golden](http://archiveofourown.org/works/407062/chapters/672605)
> 
> I feel I should point out now that this story is not planned. At all.  
> I will be feeling the way and documenting it- I have no control over what happens and when. It is the way I write.

“It’s Almost Time.” Kanaya strained to look deeper into the session they were about to enter. Rose, pressed against Kanaya’s side and reasonably sober, shivered in the sudden chill. Atmosphere was back. Kanaya wrapped an arm around her shoulders instinctively, pulling Rose closer.  
Inside, Dave’s fingers brushed over paper, John’s writing, in the same blue he used for Pesterchum, sprung from the page, and Dave had already memorised it.  
He’d pocketed the letter the moment everyone’s attention had been drawn by the stupid Juggalo murderer. Gamzee, was it?  
Hard to believe that was almost three years ago.  
Karkat shoved Dave’s shoulder with enough force to make him stumble. The letter disappeared immediately into Dave’s pocket, hours of practice of hiding the page quickly coming back to him. Karkat didn’t notice. “TIME TO GO, FUCKASS.”  
“No need to shout.” Dave muttered, adjusting his shades, but he complied by leaving the room. The irritable Troll was a flame in the darkness, but he really was loud.  
“Are you ready to enter the session, Dave?” Rose asked, more competent than he’d seen her in months. Dave gave her a rare smirk, but it was forced. “Yeah.”  
The looming blue light engulfed them as they entered the Alpha session.  
A flash.  
“Jade?” Dave was the first to recover from the light overdose.  
Jade stood in front of them, the sudden wind swirling around her. Her eyes were dark, but she glowed faintly, the same Jade. Rose lifted an arm faintly toward her friend, reaching out. Jade mirrored her movement, and as their fingertips brushed, there was another flash.  
Suddenly it was a pile of limbs, and John Egbert’s voice leeching over the top of it all- a shocked sound that Dave found he’d missed as he untangled himself.  
That wasn’t right.  
Who the hell were those four kids?  
What was going on?  
More flashes intruded on their vision, then simultaneous blackout engulfed them, the dark universe spinning away from them, being replaced by blue sky, reminiscent of Earth.


	2. Waking Up

Your name is Dave Strider and your head is throbbing.  
  
You’re coming to, but it’s still too bright for you to open your eyes, even through your shades. Instead, you opt for the option of slinging an arm across your face to block it out, flinching as skin made contact with the shades.  
You can’t remember the last time you had short sleeves. You sure as hell didn’t in your God Tier outfit.  
Vague heat on either side of you indicates you aren’t alone, and you slowly lift your arm, adjusting to the sunlight.  
  
It doesn’t take you long to realise you’re back on Earth, and if that wasn’t enough to make your head spin, you’re no longer in your God Tier outfit- and there’s a backpack pile by a nearby tree.  
  
It takes you all of five minutes to adjust to the bright light and pull yourself into a sitting position, your eyes scanning the ring of people. On one side of you, Rose is sitting, rubbing her eyes with enough force to shatter a rock, and on the other, John is laid on his side, curled up with his arm across his head to block out the sun. You poke him. “Yo John, get up.” You try, making him whine softly, but he complies, using you to tug himself up. “So who are these lot?” you gesture vaguely to the many groaning, whining people as they try to block out the sun. John casts his own gaze around them, studying them. He frowns, “Well I recognise Jade and Rose…”  
“No shit.” You interrupt, Jade is splayed on the grass in a long dark skirt and she isn’t bothering to block out the bright, intruding light. She seems happy to be back on Earth.  
“I believe that would be our teen mom.” Rose is suddenly kneeling at your side, but with all the years of Bro suddenly appearing to begin a Strife Session, you don’t even flinch. You look at Rose, and she’s pointing at someone your age, with the same pale hair as you and Rose. “And I assume the others are in some way related to the rest of us.”  
You nod gently, indicating the final pale-haired member of the group. You choke out a “Bro.” and it sounds pretty normal, which you’re thankful for, but John seems to get something’s up because he’s at your side in moments, an arm around your shoulders. You lean into him in silent thanks, because even though Bro could be a terrible custodian, he was still Bro, and he’d saved your life.  
“Then the other two must be relatives of John and Jade.” Rose bobbed her head in contemplation. “We’ll have to ask them. But I have no idea who the other three are.” Rose smiled with an air that told you she knew exactly who they were.  
  
In about ten minutes, everyone had adjusted to the light, and you’d found out who the three black-haired strangers were when the shortest of them sat up at full tilt, yelling incessantly.  
“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?” Karkat was on his feet in seconds as he caught sight of his skin tone.  
“I think you’re human, now, Karkat.” Rose mused calmly, “And Kanaya and Terezi.”  
“I GOT THAT, FUCKASS!” Karkat was fuming, it was funnier when he was a human.  
  
You study the changes, and there aren’t many. Karkat has retained his messy black hair and dark eyes, but both of these things are now undeniably human. He has kept his shirt and pants and really, the only things that have changed are his skin tone, the removal of fangs and horns, and his eyes are no longer yellow. He’s definitely kept his angry, sulky personality. The human you’re guessing is Terezi throws an arm around his shoulders with a chuckle, perching her glasses back on her face, where they belong.  
You direct your attention to the last of the Trolls- or ex-trolls, you guess- as Terezi calms Karkat down. Kanaya is sitting peacefully, looking around the open space. “Yo Kanaya.” You greet idly as Rose scrambles over to her. She nods at you silently, distracted as she drinks in your surroundings.  
  
Meanwhile, Jade attacks the dark-haired male stranger, wrapping her arms around him and giggling, words coming in bursts. You gather it’s something of a greeting. A very Jade-esque greeting.  
You survey the scene of chaos, most of the group seems to have paired to greet or calm one another. Everyone except you.  
Instead, you opt for the option of checking out the backpack pile, which proves to be a good idea. You call the chattering group over, and Rose deduces that there is a backpack for each of you, but comes up blank when you ask how they got there.  
There is a name printed at the top of each bag, and they all bear the symbol of the group’s respective god tiers. You find the one printed with your name, and pull a red backpack out of the pile to study the gear symbol. Jade and Kanaya swap black bags, both printed with the symbol of Space, whilst Rose sits back to examine the contents of her golden yellow backpack, yelling in surprise, “Check your bags!”  
You dig through your bag and discover, to your surprise and delight, that there is a platinum card tucked in the bottom, as well as a wad of papers that Rose reveals to be legal documents, birth certificates and such.  
“Something weird happened here.” You hear Rose mutter, and nod in agreement, “But if we can’t continue the game, the best thing we can do is try to readjust to normal life.”  
  
Rose splits you off into smaller groups, pairing you and John, and Roxy and Jane (They’ve introduced themselves), then teamed herself with the three ex-trolls, and put Jade with Dirk and Jake, mainly because Jade would have chewed her head off if Rose hadn’t teamed her with her post-scratch grandson.  
You kind of feel sorry for him. But the feeling lessens greatly as Dirk places a protective arm around him, a sort of ‘leave him alone’ gesture. You and Dirk share curt, understanding nods.  
Your attention is diverted back to Rose as she begins to sort out all your affairs. By the look of the sun, it’s early in the day.  
You have until nightfall to sort out accommodation unless you want to spend the night on the streets.

 

Your name is John Egbert and you’re bubbling with fear and excitement.  
  
Sure, you’re externally ecstatic, anyone would be if they had escaped the situation you had just been in.  
  
But you are also terrified. You have no idea where you are or how you got here. Your documents show that your name is still John Egbert, but otherwise you have no idea what you’re doing. You sure hope Dave knows how to buy a house. Or even rent a flat; that would do you.  
You take a little time to find out how much money you and Dave have, and discover that you have about $100,000 each, which makes you reel at first but you quickly realise that will be spending the majority of the money on the flat, and college fees. That’s not even beginning to think of other expenses, and the sheer amount of work it will be comes crashing down on you, forcing you to your knees. Dave apologises to the people around you, and sweeps you up, carrying to into an alley before setting you on the floor and crouching. “John? You okay?”  
“I don’t think I can do this Dave.” You murmur into your arms, your face buried in the folds of your shirt. You feel Dave sit next to you, he puts an arm around your shoulders and pulls you toward him, a comforting motion that you greatly appreciate, as you turn to bury your head in Dave’s shoulder.  
  
After you manage to recover, Dave takes you to a small restaurant round the corner to grab a meal and discuss plans.  
As your plates arrive, he speaks up, “John, I get you’re not happy about this.” He keeps his gaze averted, as far as you can see past the aviators. He sips his glass of apple juice before continuing, “And I’m not exactly thrilled myself. I don’t know what it’s like to be alone, I mean, I rarely saw Bro and when I did it was just strife, but having him there helped, y’know?” you tell him you understand, and he continues. “So I was wondering if… you’d like to share an apartment with me?” you watch a pale blush spread its way across Dave’s cheeks, and stall your reply to increase the worry. Internally, you’re sighing in relief and shaking with excitement, because it was a perfect proposition, one that you would undoubtedly enjoy. You realise he’s still waiting for an answer, and instead of talking you weave around the table and hug Dave with great force. He chuckles and wraps an arm around you, using the other to straighten his shades which you knocked askew with your hug. “I guess that’s a yes.”  
  
You are the only one Dave drops his guard around, you’ve noticed. Especially when he’s close to Rose, he’ll keep up his indifferent, cool kid façade. But when he’s with you, alone with you, on Pesterchum or in physicality, then you find his veil drops. He smiles and laughs much more frequently around you, and you’ll admit to yourself that you’re grateful. Seeing Dave smile makes you smile, you can’t help it, you find his joy euphoric.  
It looks like you’ll be seeing a lot more now that you’ll be moving in together.  
  
With your combined funds of $200,000, you find a cheap, clean flat on the top floor of an apartment building, overlooking the city, and as Dave forks over the money you find yourself gazing out of the window, picking out people on the street way below. You try to guess the names of all of them, then a group of four comes along that you find you do recognise, and you yell a brief farewell of “Rose!” over your shoulder as you high-tail it out of the apartment.  
  
You stumble into the street rather gracelessly, and spot Rose and Kanaya ushering Karkat and Terezi around the corner. You call after them, their names falling from your mouth in an unthinking wave. They pause, allowing you to catch up and tell them you and Dave have an apartment.  
The sun is beginning to set.  
“Do you mind if we sleep on your floor tonight?” Rose asks, humility gracing every syllable. The glare she gives Karkat and Terezi out of the corner of her eyes says everything you need to know, and you readily agree, on the condition that Dave does too.  
Nevertheless, you find yourself traipsing the group back to your apartment without contacting Dave, And when he answers the door it takes him a few seconds to replace his anticipating smile with the blank expression that he wears for everyone but you (And rarely, Jade), which makes you feel a little guilty. You compensate by grinning at him with full force, and you suspect it’s this that sways Dave to allow Karkat, Terezi, Rose and Kanaya to join you in fighting for the cosiest part of the floor, since you don’t have any furniture yet.  
Despite the large expanse of free space, you find Dave is laying with his back against yours, and it is this that allows sleep to come so easily. You drift quietly into slumber as the moon casts its eerie glow through the apartment window.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanaya is as creepy a human as she was a Troll.  
> Nobody has a place to stay.  
> John and Dave are competent. Nobody else is.

Your name is Dave Strider and that was the best night’s sleep you’ve had for about four years.

Of course, time is pretty relative in the Medium; there is no day or night. So it’s really your first night at all in about four years. You muse over this as your mind does a 180 and clips your consciousness back with logic. Your senses start working again and you inch your eyes open. Sunlight is peeking quite strongly through the window, indicating that it’s around 9AM, given the time of year and sun rise times and all that jazz, but you’re making quite wide guesses here.  
The warmth on your back is comforting, and despite the gears in your head turning, you don’t figure out what it is until a minute has passed, and when you do you jerk into a kneeling position, staring with wide eyes at John, who still seems to be sleeping peacefully. Thank God.

Kanaya, however, you find is sitting on the kitchen counter sipping a cup of water. You briefly wonder where the cup came from, and then disregard it as you remember John picked up a set of four when he’d been leading Rose’s group back to the apartment.  
You still had no idea why he’d done that, but it made Kanaya’s wakefulness more startling, so you made a mental note to grumble at him about it.  
“I believe the phrase is ‘Good Morning’, Dave?” Kanaya kept her voice quiet so as not to wake the other members of the party. You raise an eyebrow at her over the top of your infernal shades- you’d managed to slip them on after your freak out. “Rose been teaching you common customs?” you quiz, trying to make the whisper sound as facetious as possible.  
Kanaya breaks out a small smile, gulping down the rest of her water and slipping off the counter. “Not Really.” She doesn’t bother keeping her voice low, and you hiss at her and gesture madly in an effort to get her to quieten down. She sighs and nods in John’s direction. “Come On, Dave. He’s All You’re Bothered About.” you straighten your face in your best irritated expression, though you know she’s right. Besides, you really need to go furniture shopping.  
Kanaya chuckles, then proceeds to wake up Rose, Terezi and Karkat. You cover your ears as the latter’s loud voice fills the small room, complaining. You find yourself smiling, “Yo, Kar, this is your first good sleep in a long time. Stop yapping, you should’ve enjoyed it.”  
Karkat shoots you a glare that could kill you in seconds flat, but nevertheless he shuts his trap. Good.

You shoo Rose’s party out just after nine, telling them to meet you back here at five, and if they don’t have phones by then, they can fuck the fuck off.  
You make a mental note to get both you and John phones too.  
You kind of miss your iPhone.

John is chirpy, as opposed to you. Your head is killing you, everything is shiny and bright. You feel a little feverish, but you still tug your now-empty backpack on and accompany John out the door and into the city. 

* * *

 

Your name is John Egbert and that sun is really warm.

You’re not used to the heat. That’s Dave’s business, what with his planet being the Land of Heat and Clockwork. Yours was, of course, the opposite, Land of Wind and Shade- and that should be enough to tell anyone this is too hot for you.  
It doesn’t help that you’re in long sleeves and pants, and the fabric is heavy.  
The first thing Dave does is buy you some new clothes. He forces you into the most hidden space possible whilst you change, and you return fiddling with the short sleeves and lightweight material. It’s a big improvement, though, and you vehemently thank Dave, which he waves off with a quip to the effect of “Gotta help my best bro out.”

You traipse the city streets for about three hours, stopping around midday to grab some food from the same place you did yesterday. The waitress greets you cheerily, recognising you from the day before, and makes small talk with you as she writes down your order.  
“We need to gather everyone together and sort out our story.” Dave hisses under his breath to you the moment the waitress leaves. You rest back in your seat. “Like, Family and stuff?”  
“Yes.” Dave momentarily rests his palm against his face at your nonchalance.  
“Best do it before the academic year starts.” You say carefully, trying your hardest to avoid worrying Dave.  
“When is that anyhow?” you shrug in response to his question as the waitress returns. Dave turns on the Strider charm, politely requesting the date and her number. She giggles like an airhead and wanders off, her bright blonde hair bouncing.  
“She is not going to be happy when you don’t call.” You quip, Dave smirks at you.  
“Who says I won’t?” You briefly wonder why this sparked annoyance, but don’t have time to investigate it as Dave is tucking in to his food and looking up dates. “So we’re at the University of Texas at Dallas, right?” he checks with you, and you nod, recalling the papers and letters in the bottom of your backpack. He nods with you, smiling. “Right, so we’re obviously in Dallas. ‘least I’m in Texas.” Dave goes on a quiet tangent about his old life, and you watch the slight amounts of emotion slip over his face with a smile.  
Dave snaps you back to reality. “Earth to John?”  
“Sorry?”  
“I said, we need to get phones.” Dave lays a weak glare on you, all it does is make you snort in laughter. “We also need laptops and internet.”  
“I’ll sort it, Egbert. Let’s focus on the phones first.”

Within half an hour, Dave has gotten the both of you an iPhone, and you don’t miss the momentary joy that flickers over his face. It makes you smile.

He puts his number into your phone, and then tells you to head back to the apartment (which he pinpoints on the map on your phone) to meet Rose’s party. With any luck, they’ll have dragged Jade and company along too, Dave informs you.

 

When you get back, you are relieved to find luck was on your side. Jade greets you with an energetic hug, almost knocking you flat before Dirk and Jake pry her off you, giving you a chance to awkwardly greet and hug Jane, because both of you know the other as someone else. You let them into the apartment, apologise for the lack of seating, and settle yourself in a corner to call Dave just as he comes in the door, greeting everyone with plastic cups, a jar of coffee and sugar.

It appears you and Dave are the only ones to have successfully purchased living quarters, so everyone is once again sleeping on your floor, much to your chagrin. You were really looking forward to a night alone with Dave, in the friendliest way possible.    
Rose corners you at about nine, quite literally. You’re sat in the corner, peacefully glaring at everyone, when Rose fills your vision and places a hand on the wall to your left, caging you in place. A knowing smirk plays on her lips. “Missing alone time with Dave?” she mocks gently, nothing close to her usual stabbing. You deny. “Do not try to fool me John Egbert.” She drops her arm and leans back regardless. “I am not stupid.”  
“I know that.”  
“Doesn’t look like it. Anyhow, we’re organising our story now. Come on over, there’s a seat between Dave and I for you in the circle.” You shoot her your most scathing look, and it kind of fails because you’re John Egbert and there is no way you can’t be cute. 

* * *

 

Your name is Dave Strider and your tolerance for morons is slowly dropping.

You almost relax as John sits next to you in the circle, because his presence silences everyone except Karkat. Terezi shoulder-barges him to quieten him down, then Rose begins.  
She organises familial bonds, drawing down a sheet with the coloured pens Terezi had bought.  
“Dave and I are siblings, obviously, as that is reality anyhow. Dirk, it may be a good idea to claim you and Roxy are our Cousins.” Rose cracks a momentary smirk at Roxy’s expression of horror, but it disappears as she drops her gaze to the paper again. “Jade, John, as ectobiological siblings, you’re going to claim to be brother and sister too, okay?” you feel John nod in acceptance, Jade interrupts. “What about Jake?”  
“Well Jake… Jake and Jane would be unrelated to you. Dark hair like yours isn’t all that uncommon. Ours, however…” she indicated you, Dirk and Roxy, “Is a lot less typical. Hence our family bond.”

Jade brings up an argument here, which results in Rose throwing her arms up and crossing out the ‘COUSINS’ label between you and Dirk.  
“JADE CAN YOU CRAM IT FOR ONE MINUTE PLEASE YOU’RE KILLING ME.” Karkat barks. The room dissolves into chaos, and you bury your head in your hands in exasperation. John stands up beside you, laying a momentary hand on your shoulder in sympathy.  
 “QUIET!” his voice overrides everyone else’s, and he drops back to the floor beside you with a dorky grin. “Thanks! Let’s make it simple, okay? Rose and Dave, Me and Jade. In those pairs. We’re related. Jake is our cousin because he resembles us a fair bit. Jane can get away with it, so no relation there. Nobody else is related to anyone. Okay?”  
A chorus of acceptance, albeit grudging, rises from the group, and you find yourself smiling because John is the best. You straighten your expression as you step in and tell everyone to go the fuck to sleep, because none of them will be staying here tomorrow.

There are a lot more people this time, so you and John end up in one of the empty bedrooms, curled up in the dark on the floor, not quite close enough to touch, but close enough to hear every intake and exhale.

Hours pass of semi-consciousness, slipping in and out of sleep with no clear line between the waking world and the contents of your mind that you refuse to acknowledge. Part of you notices when John starts fidgeting in his sleep. Your waking state slowly pulls you round, dragging you as though from a deep pool.  
All of a sudden, John sits up and screams.  
It’s the most agonised scream you’ve ever heard, and it lasts only a split second, rolling around in the room without escaping its confines. You can see in the pale light from the moon that’s filtering through the window, John is panting, his hands buried in the carpet. His eyes are wide and terrified and disoriented. After a moment, he stops, his breath catches, and he breaks into tears.  
You shuffle over to him, holding him gently as he sobs. His hands clench around the fabric of your shirt as he buries his head in your chest. You tighten your hold only slightly, calming him until the two of you simultaneously fall into a deep sleep.  
You didn't need to question to know the nightmares had begun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is an increasing amount of JohnDave before it's meant to be there at the moment.  
> Oh well.  
> Enjoy!

Morning light seeps through the tiny window, muffled movement can be heard from outside your door.  
Your name is John Egbert and you just woke up with your face buried in Dave’s chest, your arms around him in a needy hug, his mirroring yours.  
What you find scary is that you don’t want to move. So you don’t. You tighten your hold, taking in as much of Dave’s scent as possible, because even after years and years, he still smells comforting and you never paid attention before.

It doesn’t take long at all for Dave to wake up, and though you feel the catch of his breath when he does, he doesn’t move until you do, turning your baleful gaze on him with full force. He chuckles; the sound rumbles warmly through his chest and you can feel the sincerity rather than hear it, “Don’t give me that look, Egbert.” He smiles, briefly touching his forehead to yours in a gesture of protection before he unravels himself from you, leaving you with the strangest of flutters rolling in your chest. You pull a Strider and ignore it.

Dave fusses over you before you leave the room, straightening your hair and glasses then holding the door open for you. You notice he has his shades perched back on his face and you smirk. “Am I the only one to be privileged enough to see you without the shades, Dave?” you ask, joking slightly with the wish for a genuine answer, which you get when Dave looks at you like you sprouted a second head, “Of course.”  
Why are you finding yourself resisting the urge to kiss him?  
Why are you finding yourself with the urge to kiss him?

Neither question has an answer, so you ignore the fact that they were ever there at all, instead opting for the decision to join the party as they prepare to head out into the city.  
Dave pulls on a hoodie, making you raise your eyebrows in question. Dave replies with a shrug and a sweeping gesture to the outside world through the window, which you take as something of an “I have lived here my whole life and it’s very cold for me Egbert” implication. You stick out your tongue.  
“Watch it; birds’ll think it’s a snack in this city of crap food.” Dave wags a finger at you. You laugh.

You find Rose has programmed her number into yours and Dave’s phones, along with Jade’s. Roxy waves her own phone at you all, grabbing your attention just long enough to proclaim that Pesterchum is still a thing on this version of Earth. Dave shoots her down by revealing he knew, and that it was already installed. You fist bump him in triumph, then Rose sends everyone packing, flooding the corridor with the miscellaneous people.

Dave is the last out the door, and you chuckle guiltily as he’s subjected to one of Jade’s powerful hugs. He smirks behind his hand as you receive the same treatment.  
Rose tentatively wraps her arms around you, and through the gentle hug you can feel that Rose is, amazingly, human. The terror she’s hiding is evident in her posture how stiff her movements are, but you seem to be the only one to notice this because nobody else is looking at her any differently. You pat her awkwardly on the back as a sign of comfort, and she gives you one of her rare, legitimate smiles.

 

Dave pulls you into every possible store, yet you find he is very cautious with the money. You both eventually decide on a plain sofa, and discover that, much to your amusement and disdain, a double bed is much cheaper than two singles. Dave shoots you a look you barely catch from behind his shades, and you beam back, a silent acceptance that the both of you understand as Dave purchases the cheapest, best double you can find.  
It’s with considerably lighter hearts (And pockets) that you find yourself walking home. Dave is already there, deciding where to put your sofa, TV and bed. You’d told him not to be stupid and left him to it, escaping back into the streets to pick up the bags of clothes you’d left at the stores in order to get home.  
You slug the bags up the stairs and into the hall of the apartment, calling for Dave as you do so. He appears and takes some of the bags; you lock the door before you follow.

He leads you into the spare bedroom, and in shock, you drop your bags. They rustle to the floor as you step through the doorway, noting Dave’s smile. You find your fingers stretching instinctively as you run your hands over the wood finish of the piano, aching to find the tune you felt you lost when Sburb first tore into your world. You find you miss your Dad.  
You turn to Dave, tearing up slightly at the weight of his gift. In the next split-second Dave smacked into the wall, laughing as you bury your head in the folds of his new hoodie, sobbing your thanks. He wraps his arms around you and you feel him smile as you tighten your hold.  
It occurs to you just how much the two of you have grown as you become alert to the fact you’re kneeling on the carpet between Dave’s legs. This, you are sure, is what perfection is. But all good things must come to an end, and you extract yourself before you ruin Dave’s hoodie. There’s a large wet patch where your tears soaked into the fabric, and Dave ends up peeling it off. He tucks it in the corner before he gets to his feet, offering you a hand up. You notice the ever-present shades have disappeared in the dim light of the room. He gives you one of his mind-melting chuckles, “C’mon Egbert. I wanna hear you play. Didn’t think I got you the damn thing just to stare at, did ya?”  
You oblige quite serenely, not recognising the music you play until it’s finished. Your simplest, the bottom line- Fur Elise. Dave recognises some of the keys and makes an attempt to mimic the tune at the higher end of the piano, pressing very lightly. You correct him a few times, but he’s quick to remedy his mistakes and quicker to learn. Very soon, you’re playing together, the first ten seconds. You throw another hug his way, repeating the words, “Thank you, thank you!” over and over until Dave places a hand lightly across your mouth. You revel momentarily in the fact that Dave Strider has hands smoother than a baby’s bottom, but it ends quickly as you lick him. He yelps and yanks his hand away, leaving you to collapse on the floor as he wipes his hand on your shirt.  
“See, Egbert, this is how we’re supposed to be acting. We’re not supposed to be kid heroes- we’re just supposed to be kids.”  
“Dave Strider, being a kid? Relish the day!”

 

* * *

 

Your name is Dave Strider and you are happier than you’ve been in four years.

John is thrilled with your gift. You are thrilled that he is thrilled. You enjoy being childish with John, because you trust him. At least enough to leave your shades on the arm of the sofa before entering the dim spare room, because you wanted to see his reaction without the dark veil your shades permenantly cast. You like the veil, sure, but you like John better, you realise as you collapse on the carpeted floor beside him, your breath coming in laughs and gasps. John hovers his fist in the air, and you fist bump him in satisfaction. It is coming to the end of only your second day here, and already you and John have settled back into a gentle routine.  
Rose, you discover, has not settled so well. She calls John in the middle of the night, when the two of you are curled back-to-back in the double bed. He sits up wearily, answering the shrill ringtone.  
“Rose?” you hear his tired tone, and whine slightly as you sit up. You watch John’s blue eyes widen in the light from the phone. He clicks his fingers at you (and fails horrible), gesturing wildly to your shirt which lies abandoned at the foot of the bed. You pull it on as John says farewell, and flick the light on. He reaches for his glasses and you hand them to him, along with a pair of pants and a hoodie because you know exactly what he’s going to say; you silence him before he can do so.  
You can ready John like a book and his simple actions paint a big picture to you. He’s your best bro and you are his best bro and that is how the cookie crumbles.  
Did you really just use that metaphor? You facepalm mentally as you pull on your own hoodie, it’s a custom print. You found you missed your God Tier gear, so you got it printed in pale red on the closest colour fabric you could find to the darker main of your God Tier outfit. You got John a similar one for his God Tier, and he rewarded you with another bone-shattering hug. You would admit only to yourself that they were the best types of hugs.

In ten minutes flat, you and John are out of the apartment and on your way to Rose and Kanaya’s. You stop off at a small all-night store to pick up some chocolate and marshmallows, despite your not knowing whether Rose even likes chocolate (John brings this up, you respond by asking what sort of monster doesn’t like chocolate) and then high-tail it across the ghost streets. They’re empty aside from a tall-ish, dark figure. He stops you with wide eyes, unspeaking, and you eye the scrap of material he holds with a smile. You make a silent promise to return tomorrow and continue running after John, shooting a dorky salute over your shoulder as you go.

The knock on the door resounds. You are momentarily thankful that Rose and Kanaya live in such a pleasant neighbourhood, because the houses are houses and not flats, and evenly spread. There is little chance of you waking anyone here.  
Kanaya answers the door, passing her hand over her jade green eyes with a sigh. She stands aside to let you in, and you notice she is wearing Rose’s shirt from the first day. It’s a little too big for her, as it was for Rose, and it makes you smirk at Rose’s infatuation. She may be a cold-ass snarky idiot, but her heart is larger than anyone you know. Excluding John, of course.

John greets Rose with a hug, and they converse in a whisper before she turns to you. You stare at her for a few seconds before you manage a “’Sup, Lalonde.”  
You don’t know what you’ve said but suddenly Rose is crying and hugging you. What’s with that? Do you have a sign on your chest that says 'Cry here and hug me'?  
You check. You don’t.  
You pat her awkwardly on the back until Kanaya taps her on the shoulder, and Rose transfers her shoulder sobbing to her. Kanaya invites you to sit on the sofa, which you find is very plush and soft, and nice. John joins you.  
After a few hours of sharing chocolate and coffee and talking in quiet tones with dim lights, you and John leave, waving goodbye to a much happier Rose and a very tired Kanaya.  
You don’t blame her, you’re exhausted yourself. Your phone says it’s three AM, so you and John head home quickly, curling under the covers on the bed the moment you’ve removed your hoodies. And your t-shirt, in your case.

It’s a restless sleep as your mind replays the conversations you’d had with Rose and Kanaya, and judging by John’s tossing, he is the same. You attempt to calm both him and yourself by whispering an unintelligible comfort as you intertwine your fingers with his.

It works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll notice that my chapters are very short.   
> I'm not used to working with multi-chapters, see. I find it hard to extend the information.  
> I'll try to make them longer from now though.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So late!   
> If you follow me on Tumblr, you'll know I've had, to put it cleanly, all the irons in the fire, as of late.  
> Chapter is a bit longer this time, lots of filler. Lots of John Egderp. Also the Mayor. I couldn't resist. I'm in no way sorry.  
> Enjoy.

Light hasn’t even begun to creep across your room when you wake.

Dave Strider, awake before six? It’s a miracle, you decide as you slip off the end of the bed, trying your hardest not to wake John. He stirs and turns, but his eyes don’t open so you take this as a victory and slip out of the room with your shirt and pants in your hand, and your shades already perched on your face. Once you’re dressed, you grab John’s hoodie off the arm of the sofa, and tack a note to the inside of your bedroom door to inform John you haven’t just disappeared, and you’ll be back soon.

The lack of sleep you’ve had makes your head reel as you scoot down streets with cars trundling to another day like every other. Headlights strike you as you cross roads and shadows consume you as you run into alleys to avoid tired, angry drivers.   
You know your destination, the same street you med the dark figure when you and John were heading to Rose and Kanaya’s.

He’s in the same place and he’s looking around, he’s confused, lonely.   
So it seems you were not the only ones pulled out of the Sburb session.   
You crouch beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He starts, jerking away from you momentarily until he recognises you. The scrap of material he clenches in his hand catches his attention, and he holds it out to you, but you press it down. “I know.”  
The Mayor. Of course.   
But now you don’t know what to do, because you can’t keep the Mayor safe anymore, like you would when you spent three years watching out for him. Eventually, you decide on taking him to the homeless shelter.   
  
He demonstrates that he is mute, and you make sure to stop in the all-night shop from earlier to pick up a set of coloured pens and a notepad. The Mayor seems pretty excited with your gift, and you leave your address and number scrawled on the inner cover before you leave him, though you know it will be no use. 

It hurts to walk home.   
John greets you at the door, because you forgot your key. He’s ruffled and tired but when he sees you wearing his hoodie he gives you another of his goofy grins, and you find that you can’t stop yourself smirking. Damn John Egbert. Damn him.

He sits you on the sofa and makes you coffee, then sits with you whilst you tell him about the Mayor. You explain that you’re worried that Gamzee may have been transported to this Earth as well, but he quietens you, claiming that even if he did, he would have close to no power due to his lack of orientation at your customs.   
You are so glad John is here to talk sense into you. Maybe it’s that which makes you fall flat on your face into his lap, asleep.

 

* * *

 

Your name is John Egbert and Dave just fell asleep on you in a very uncool way.

In fact, the way he fell asleep is so un-Strider-like that you have to stifle a chuckle. One moment, Dave was in the middle of a sentence about Gamzee, the next he’d faceplanted your legs after passing out.   
Not that you blame him. You’re exhausted too, so you carefully lift Dave up, remove his shades (Which are miraculously unbroken), and lay him back against the cushions before you curl up against him with your head on his chest, because that isn’t strange at all. Besides, you can hear his heartbeat, and it’s comforting, soothing enough to charm you into a serene slumber.

 

Already life is getting boring. Wake up, get organised, go sleep.   
Today, you discover when you wake up about noon, Dave is taking you out of the main city, and you’re heading to a theme park. He shrugs when you ask which one, because he hasn’t memorised the name. You gather a rucksack each because you don’t plan on being home ‘til late, and as you head out Dave informs you that you are meeting the others there. There’s a pang of momentary disappointment as you realise you won’t get to spend alone time with Dave, though you’ve had plenty of that when you were asleep. Multiple times you’ve awoke during the night to find Dave pressed against you, his back to yours or your hand in his. It took you too long to figure out that Dave was suffering nightmares, too. In fact, you didn’t realise until you were trekking down the road in the beating sun with him. When it hit you, you stopped dead, causing the Strider in question to shoot a look over his shoulder.  
“Yo, Egbert. Y’alright?” being in Texas had firmly reinforced his accent, you found. It made you chuckle, regardless, and you shelved the realisation until the two of you got home.  
 “Yeah.”

Dave puts an arm around your shoulders as you walk, it’s heavy and hot in the Texas sunlight, and the straps of your bag are starting to cut into your shoulders. You take it off and swing it between your fingers, and Dave squeezes gently, briefly.  
You can see Jade and Dirk now, and you assume that the one sitting on the ground is Jake. There’s no sign of Kanaya, Rose, or any of the others though.   
Jade waves frantically at you as you approach, and Dirk buries his face in his palm.

“S’up?” Dave greets as you reach them, ducking under one of Jade’s powerful hugs. His arm is removed from your shoulders in the process, so you take the time to pick Jade up off the floor, where she’s beginning to tear up. You hug her and shush her, because that was one heck of a fall, and glare at Dave until he sighs and rolls his eyes, but hugs her anyhow.   
You marvel at how Jade’s tears disappear and how purple Dave’s face goes when she strangles him with her most violent hug yet. And, of course, you can’t help laughing at him because you just want to hold a colour chart up to his cheeks and assess the shade.   
You don’t get the chance to, though, because Rose and Kanaya arrive, followed swiftly by Jane, Roxy, Terezi and Karkat. Once the lot of you have settled down, you enter the theme park, well and truly ready to have some fun.

  
You’re afraid of heights.  
You’d completely forgotten about this when you were busy flying everywhere as a god tier, probably because you _could_ fly. Now that gravity was once again effective, you found your heart lurching as you climbed into the rollercoaster cart beside Dave. But he’s giving you that signature grin, the type he reserves _only for you_ , and you really can’t say no. Besides, the shaking of his hands made you think he was equally as scared as you, or very excited. Either way, he’s shaking, and you’re snorting slightly at the thought of Dave Strider shaking. He elbows you in the side as the bars lock into place, and you smirk slightly as you grip the bar with all your might. A few seconds of silence, and then you’re rocketing along, rushing up and down various small hills, picking up speed- you turn a loop-the-loop, one hand clamped on your glasses to keep them in place. Dave isn’t so lucky, he seems to have forgotten that his shades are indeed effected by gravity, and he grabs at them as they fall, making you laugh breathily into the wind as you flatten out. The coaster begins an ascent, and Dave tucks the shades firmly into his shirt pocket. “When the camera comes around dude I’ll just close my eyes.” He informs you as you shoot him a quizzical look, then you’re rushing toward the ground almost vertically, screaming and whooping, all fear eliminated with the rush of joy. Dace isn’t coping so well, he’s buried his head in your shoulder and his hands are wrapped in the folds of your shirt. You can actually feel him groaning, it’s a steady vibration coming from his chest, and you loosen an arm to place protectively around him. There’s the camera. You bet that looked extremely gay.

 

* * *

 

Your name is Dave Strider and _fuck why did you ever think this piece of junk was a good idea._

You’re actually so scared that you catch yourself whimpering, and immediately scold yourself because John might be able to hear you. You glance upward, and his gentle smirk replies, telling you that he definitely did. Great. Fucking great.   
Not like he wouldn’t find out that you’re not as cool as you make out, anyhow. You live with him, eat with him, breathe with him, you even sleep in the same bed as him. Your lives are now stuck together closer than Gamzee’s mane of shitty black hair drenched in Faygo. As best bros should be.  
A bright flash tells you that the camera has just captured you with your head buried in John’s shoulder, and that’ll look great on your track record of being completely heterosexual.

You try not to wobble as you step off the rollercoaster, your shades already jammed back into place. John steadies you as you trip and you snap “I’m fine!” at him. Despite your immediate rush of guilt at having sounded so mean, John chuckles. He lets go, and you almost- _almost_ fall again. _Almost_. Not quite. You grab hold of his arm to stop your face saying howdy to the floor, and John burst into peals of laughter. You manage to pull yourself upright long enough to hiss close to his ear, “Stop fucking laughing, douchebag. Help me walk.” He jerks his head toward you and for a brief second you can feel his skin against your lips, and the effect it leaves knocks you harder than any rollercoaster ever could.

Rose greets you as you exit the Coaster station, and she aids John in manoeuvring you to a table in a small diner in order to sit down, because you are, by this point, completely unable to move. She makes no comments, no snide chips at you, only a knowing glance. Somehow that’s worse. Fuck her. Fuck everything about her. Fuck her knowing you too well. Fuck.

John is too busy buying drinks, much to your convenience. You’ll feel a hell of a lot better once you have some sweet, sweet apple juice in your system. Even if it does have to come from a juice box.   
John plants the cardboard cuboid of godly nectar in front of you, it doesn’t last long.  
Once the juice box is empty, you crush it and stand up, neatly swinging your chair under the table with one foot. That’s the Strider swag right there. Even as a mortal you are fucking awesome.

Until Jade appears from literally _nowhere_ (you swear this for a good five years afterwards) and plants you firmly on your ass with a tackle-hug. The crushed juice box skitters across the floor and Dirk picks it up, dumping it easily in the bin as he and Jake pick Jade up from the floor in perfect unison. You set your face to a sulky line and cross your arms. “You really gotta stop doing that, yo.” You instruct Jade, and she pouts slightly, but replaces it a moment later with a dorky grin, and you can definitely see the family resemblance. Though, as you turn away, you find yourself realising that John’s is cuter.

 

You don’t exactly have a perfectly heterosexual track record.   
No, it isn’t all clean. But it’s pretty close. Just a little dust here and there, but God damn it, all that dust is John Egbert, which kind of adds more dust. Then again, John is your best bro. Everyone is a little gay, right? John just happens to be the one dude you can trust not to be weird about your sarcastic flirting.   
The thought fresh in your mind, you thud the bro in question in the arm, and he flinches, rubbing the spot you hit him. “What was that for!?” you respond by tilting your shades down and giving him your most Rose-esque knowing look.   
Well it sort of worked. He snorted so hard in his laughter that he shot Cola out of his nose. That, you decide, is fair revenge for the rollercoaster.

 

Jade drags you out of the small diner after your cola-nose thing, scolding you. You stifle a chuckle as John comes out behind you with a tissue napkin pressed to his face. He’s bright red against the clean white napkin, it’s such a stark contrast, you marvel at it as you try to keep reign on your laughs.   
Rose is conspiring with Jade. You can see her whispering in Jade’s ear, smirking, sneaking glances at you in an all-too-knowing fashion. She’s planning something and there is no way you can weasel out of it. God fucking damn her!

 

* * *

 

 

Your name is John Egbert and Dave is one hundred percent sure the ladies are plotting his downfall.

“It wouldn’t be your first fall today.” you poke your tongue out of the corner of your mouth as he hits you again, but it’s considerably less painful than the previous punch. “You’ve obviously fallen for me, you dork.” You send Dave your cheesiest wink and he slams his face into his palm  
“So hard, bro.”

 

Well what do you know? Rose did have a plan for Dave’s downfall!   
Your group mills around outside the queue area for the Tunnel of Love. The problem…   
“They’ll only let you on in pairs.” Rose points out, “And there’s only eleven of us.”  
“Someone will have to sit it out then.” Dave flumps to the ground, “I volunteer.”   
“Oh no.” Rose counters, shaking her head. You thoroughly agree with her.   
“Why Don’t We Ask That Young Lady If She would Mind Accompanying One Of Us On The Ride?” Kanaya indicates a young teen. She looks to be about one or two years younger than you, and she’s staring at the entrance, entranced. She’s also alone. Dave huffs and Jade grins, “Now Dave can come on the ride, and we help someone!”  
“She’s sitting with you, Jade.” Rose interrupts Jade’s thoughts. You stifle a laugh at the shade of purple-pink Jade flushes. “What?”  
“Dave’s sitting with John.” That stops you laughing. You’re pretty sure your face matches Jade’s when Dave pipes up, “Rose, I appreciate you tryin’a get me into the romance scene, but I really am not into dicks.” Both you and Rose raise an eyebrow.   
 “Who said anything about romance? We’re just packing for the ride. He’s your best bro, right? It’s not weird.” But the look on her face as she turns toward the queue are lets you know that’s exactly what she wants it to be. God damn it Rose.

Dave yawns as he leans on the side of the cart furthest from you. Talking of you, your head is buried in your hands, resting on the metal bar of the cart. A soft groan is procured from you and Dave pats your shoulder heartily. “Let’s see how many cliché’s we can spot, yo.” He suggests. You accept. Not like you have anything better to do on this pink mess of a ride.

“Cherubs!” you point at the bow-carrying baby angels. Dave snickers, because they look nothing like the Cherubs, that you know of, sound. “Romeo and Juliet!” Dave points at a poorly-constructed balcony.  
“Oh come on that isn’t even a love story! It’s a warning!” you roll your eyes, your literature knowledge flooding you like nostalgia. Dave plants a hand against his face again, and you briefly wonder how he isn’t bruised. You pat his head gently and he leans away from you, “Don’t touch the hair, yo.”  
You proceed to lean over and ruffle it more. Dave stifles laughs as you practically lie on top of him, batting his sandy gold locks like a cat with yarn, appreciating how he shines even in the dim, dusty-pink light. Your mental facepalm flings you back into your own seat, because your cart is rocking like mad and you’re pretty sure Jade just told you to get a room. You stick your tongue out in the direction of her cart, and her laughter tells you she did indeed say as much.

Dave is staring at the cart behind you. Dirk and Jake are locked in a passionate kiss. You prod Dave in the side, “What’s wrong, Dave?”  
“He looks like you.” The words are barely louder than an exhale, but you hear them. He jerks his gaze up to you, “It’s weird!” he rectifies immediately, springing back to his normal, Dave-like self. “To see your actual bro kiss your best bro, or whatever it’s close enough. Makes me shiver. Like, what if that was us?”  
“Yeah, what if.” You slump into your seat and rest your head on your hands. “Get me out of here already.”  
“The tunnel?”  
“Yes.” You don’t bother with your usual contractions, because Dave’s words hit you like a punch to the jaw. You’re torn between licking your wounds and hating yourself because it matters to you, and you just do not know why.

“Natural light!” you shout it like you’ve not seen it for years, because that’s what it felt like. You wrap a one-armed hug around Dave, fake-crying for emphasis. He calls you so many variations of the word ‘dork’, you could write a dictionary.  You clamber off the ride and stretch languorously, a yawn finding its way past your lips. “Dude, you slept in ‘til about one.” Dave grumbles as he perches on a picnic table. What is it with him and the perching? You ask him.  
“It’s comfortable.” Dave uses a sign to pull himself to the top of the signpost, leaving you to marvel at his ability. He tugs at your collar to get your attention again, “Try it.”  
You attempt to perch on the table and fall face-first into a very tired-looking Rose.   
“Good job, Egbert.” Dave snickers.

 

“Good night, Jade.” You hug your sister, stifling a yawn, when a thought strikes you. You turn to Rose, “We organised the families, right? But Dave and Dirk, and you and Roxy have the same last names.”  
“Taken care of. Roxy went to get her name adapted and it will be done soon. Strider isn’t all that uncommon; it can be passed as a weird coincidence.” Rose waves a hand airily at you, and although you don’t believe her, you drop it anyways. The sun has set, and you fall into step beside Dave to walk home whilst the others order Taxi’s. You feel safer hearing Dave’s breathing. You feel safer with an arm around him, and with his around yours. You feel safer being close to Dave, safer than any Taxi could ever be. And that’s what makes you happy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah I am so insanely sorry! I have been so caught up with various exams, and being important for once, I haven't had time at all!  
> I will be hiatus-ing Seeing Stars throughout November, I think, as I will be attempting NaNoWriMo... sort of. I've never been one for long bodies of text!
> 
> I tried the code for the colouring of text, but failed on an epic scale. Sorry!

Your name is John Egbert, and by the time you’re on the street to your apartment, you’re shivering like the air is pure ice.

Dave stops you after you’re both within the confines of the apartment, wrapping you in a hug. It’s Dave’s way of thanking you for everything that’s happened today, and just for generally being you. As an added bonus, Dave is really warm, so you soak in his heat for the brief moment before he pushes you away with a “No homo.”  
Dave heads to bed as you curl onto the sofa, your phone lighting up between your palms as you cup it. It seems a stupid thing to do, even you think so, but you enjoy the contact between your hands, so you do it anyhow.  
You load up Pesterchum for the first time since your return from the session, and discover that there are three requests to add you as a chum sitting there. One from gutsyGumshoe, one from tipsyGnostalgic and one from grimAuxiliatrix. You recognise the final chumhandle as Kanaya, but the other two are not so prominent. You add them all anyhow, and decide to pester gutsyGumshoe, since they appear to be online at the moment.  
  
EB: hey! who is this?

You wait about five minutes before the light blue text crosses your screen,

GG: Jane, I guess this is John?  
EB: oh hey jane! why are you still awake?  
GG: Roxy is clattering around! :B  
EB: oh well, did you have a good time today?  
GG: It went as well as I would have liked, yes.  
EB: is roxy’s chumhandle tipsyGnostalgic?

Okay, so maybe you should have continued your conversation before asking, but you were not a patient person.

GG: Yes, I assume she’s contacted you too? Jake’s handle is golgothasTerror and Dirk’s is timaeusTestified. Though, I’m not entirely sure if they’ll change them or not, seeing as we’ve left the session and our old lives.  
EB: i don’t really understand what you’ve just said.  
EB: i think I better go to bed, I don’t want to wake dave.  
GG: Goodnight, John! :B

You log off, considerably happier after talking with Jane. It takes you all of a few minutes to slip into bed beside Dave. Your eyes heavy and your brain is a tired mush, so you’re all too grateful to curl up under the covers.  
Only five minutes later, before sleep can claim you, Dave is silently slipping off the foot of the bed. You sit up abruptly, seeing only a fuzzy dark shape against more darkness, without your glasses, “Dave?”  
“Go to sleep bro.” Dave says it quietly, a whisper.  
“No, what’s wrong?” you ask the question, already knowing the answer,  
“Nothin’, Egbert, go to sleep.” Dave turns away from you, (or you think he turns away from you) and picks up a shirt. You slip out of bed to stand beside him, “You’re not running off again Dave.” You say sternly, still whispering. You really just want to sleep, but you would rather make sure Dave is okay. He’s looked after you; it’s your turn to repay the favour. He deadpans you, the blank expression knocking you even harder without his shades to hide his eyes, but you refuse to give in. You crack a small smile and pick up your hoodie, which you’d discarded on the floor. He sighs and relents, “Alright, but you’ll have to trust me.” To which you reply that you always do. He gives you a smile that is so emotion-laden, you find your arm around his shoulders in a comforting gesture.

Dave leads you into the main room, and throws open the window that allows you to see to the street far below. “Stay here a minute.” He leans backwards out of the window, and you have to fight so hard to repress the urge to grab him, you almost miss him hooking his fingers around the lip of the roof and tugging himself up. A few seconds after he disappears, his head and arms reappear. “Grab on, Egbert.” He wiggles his eyebrows weakly at you and- god damn it- you actually giggle as you grab his hands.  
Once Dave has hoisted you onto the roof in an amazing display of strength, the two of you walk to the centre of the almost flat building top, watching the soft glint of the moonlight off the metal structures that rose toward the sky. Dave smiles, not at you, but at the moon. You watch him as the air rolls over his face, pulling his hair back from his eyes. His shades lay abandoned on the sofa. And for a brief moment, you understand him. Just a moment. You feel everything he feels. You understand how much he missed you, how much he’s still hurting at the death of his brother, how badly he’s been thrown despite his calm façade. Then it all disappears, and all you see is Dave. You turn your own gaze to the sky, drawing closer to Dave. Your hand brushes his, lightly, as you both stare at the moon. All you see is stars.

 

* * *

 

 

Your name is Dave Strider, and you trust John wholly.

You don’t know how you haven’t realised that before. Or maybe you did, to an extent.  
You turn to him as he sits down, joining him on the cool concrete. He seems distant, more than just exhaustion rolled behind his startling blue eyes. You face him, silent. You don’t bother to keep on your emotionless mask, because, for some reason, you don’t feel like hiding yourself from John. Part of you is terrified; scared he’ll run the second he finds your heart. But for the most part, you just want him to know you. So you watch as he stares at the sky. You can see the stars reflected in his eyes.

“When I was younger,” your voice shocks him, “I used to associate the roof with strife. For a long time, I wouldn’t go up there without Bro.” your voice catches as you say his name. “One night, I couldn’t sleep. I began to worry, because Bro and I weren’t doing so well, you know? You’d just logged out for the night, nobody else was online, I was alone. So that’s where I went. I sat up there and I stared at the moon. And, damn it, Bro came up. He didn’t say anything, didn’t pull a sword, or a puppet, or anything. He just sat, a little away from me, and he looked at the moon too. Don’t know why, never understood. Anyhow, that was where I went, if I ever needed the time. It made me happy. Seeing stars. Watching the moon. Sometimes, I didn’t go in ‘til dawn.” You realise you’re rambling, and you stop. John stares at you, enthralled, learning more about you in a few minutes than he did in almost as many years. Maybe that was an exaggeration.  
Whilst you’d been talking, you’d been working on autopilot. You recalled no emotions, but now you were done, they flooded you.  
 “Oh god.” John’s voice reaches you from far away, your world sways and blurs. You’re crying. You’re actually crying.  
John shuffles over to you, pulling you in to him. You’re breaking and John’s dealing with the fallout and you’re scared because you’ve never broke before. The moon has always fixed you; always put patches over the cracks in your armour.  
But this time it couldn’t. “I’ve been having nightmares, John. About losing you, and Jade, and Rose, and you dying and me never seeing you again, and seeing you as a ghost before Lord English obliterated the bubble and you were gone and all I could see as I died was your smile-” you have to halt, because your breath solidifies in your throat. You’re practically lying on John now, uncaring, your arms are slung around his neck as you cry. Not sob. Cry. Tears are pouring from you in torrents. John wraps one arm around your back, his hand resting carefully, covering your shoulder. His other hand is deep in your hair. It’s a protective position, he’s protecting you. Protecting you.   
His breath blows against your sandy blond strands as he buries his face in the top of your head. If Jade could see you now, she’d have a field day, you’re sure. Again, you don’t care. You need protecting, and you know fine well that nobody but John can protect you. And nobody but you can protect him, you realise, as tears drip gently from his eyes, too. You pull yourself up, pressing your forehead to his as you move, panicking, trying your hardest to comfort him. One of your hands sits at the back of his neck, the other is working to wipe away his tears, your cool skin pressed gently against his hot cheek. “It’s alright.” You manage to breathe, your voice is tight and nasally, but neither you nor John could possibly care at this moment in time.

You sit like that for about ten minutes, seconds trickling past in a slow dribble and a rushing river. John breaks it first, standing, taking your hand. “It’s time to go in.”  
You move silently. John doesn’t let go of your hand. You make no move to shake him off.  
You even manage to manoeuvre the two of you back into the apartment like that. Neither of you lets go, and you end up asleep in John’s embrace, and he presses into yours.  
It’s the first night that neither of you have nightmares.

 

* * *

 

 

Your name is John Egbert, and day came all too quickly.

You wake up, curled against Dave’s chest. You can feel that he is already awake, and out of the corner of your blurry vision, you see his phone, raised up above your heads. He’s texting with one hand, the same one that’s holding the phone. The other arm is around you, his hand gently wrapped around your shoulder. You feel a rush of emotion as you realise he could have quite happily left you in the bed alone, but he decided to stay with you instead. The phone goes down, then Dave’s other hand brushes into your hair, and for a moment it almost feels like this is perfectly normal. The sort of thing a couple would do. That’s what your brain dimly registers, and your eyes burst open. You sit up quickly, breaking Dave’s protective hold on you. He blinks weakly at you, “Morning Egbert.” His tone is almost idle. His hand drops to his chest as you swing your legs over the edge of the bed and put on your glasses. “Morning.”

Dave makes you coffee, and your phone buzzes as you take the cup. It’s Jane, on Pesterchum.

GG: Hey John, are you awake?  
EB: oh hi jane! yes we’re awake.  
GG: Good, do you mind if Roxy and I come over?

You run this by Dave, and he shrugs, choosing to chew quietly on an Oreo as he sits on the kitchen counter. He’s been strangely quiet this morning. You make a mental note to ask him about it once you’re done with Jane.

EB: come on down!  
GG: We’ll be there soon.

Jane goes offline and your phone goes down, bouncing off the sofa as you sidle up to Dave on the countertop. “Dave, are you okay?”  
“Yeah, ‘m fine.” Dave stares at the ceiling. The silence in the room is deafening, the only sound is your breath, and the odd time Dave kicks the counter when he’s swinging his legs. You hum a little, because it seems like the right thing to do, and as you reach the chorus of your little song, Dave hops off the counter. “Hey Egbert, d’you remember I got that waitress’ number?” his question distracts your hum, “Yeah?”  
“Well I’m going out this evenin’.” Dave shoots you a sly grin before he places his shades back on to his face, shielding his red eyes from the harsh light. He jerks his head to the spare bedroom, “Feel like a jam session?”  
“Did you really just use the phrase ‘Jam session’?”  
“It’s ironic, bro, you wouldn’t understand.” Dave shakes his head and you follow him in to the dim room to play a little before Roxy and Jane arrive.

A series of calm, purposeful knocks at your door bowl you over as you and Dave finish up the song you were playing. You stretch your limbs carefully, avoiding hitting the piano. Dave swings the door open and shoves your shoulder as he passes, then goes to answer the door as you pick yourself off the floor, swearing blind at him. By the time you leave the room, you are very dishevelled. Jane and Roxy are sitting on one side of the sofa; Jane is sunk deep into the cushions, whilst Roxy is perched on the arm. Dave has his hands buried in his jeans pockets.  
“Hi Jane!” you greet her heartily, because there is no reason you shouldn’t. “Why exactly did you want to come over?” Jane responds by groaning and flumping into your sofa cushions. That explains it perfectly. Roxy rolls her eyes and extends a hand daintily toward Jane’s head. “Jake and Jade have had three or four shoot outs.” The light in Roxy’s eyes is mildly disturbing, it’s joyous, “God knows where they got BB guns, but they got them. Even Dirk is holed up in the house. We really need to get our equip for this semester, so I suggested we drag you two into the city with us!”  
Jane gives a groan of agreement, so you collect Dave’s hoodie and your shoes from your bedroom, and physically drag Dave out the door behind a singing Roxy and a tired-looking Jane.

 

By the time you get back, you and Dave have all your equipment, as well as spare backpacks because you don’t want to ruin your God Tier ones. Dave flumps face-first onto the sofa as you organise the takeaway food you and he ordered. “I’m not ready to go to school, Egbert.” His voice is muffled by the sofa cushions. You sit on the floor and place down the plates of food. “It’s University, Dave, and none of us are. We don’t have a choice, so we’re just going to have to deal with it.” You shrug nonchalantly, as Dave takes his place beside you on the floor. “I haven’t adjusted from- well. Yeah.” You add in a quiet voice, and for a few minutes the only sound is the two of you eating hungrily. Eventually, Dave replies with his own, equally quiet, “Me neither.”  
There’s a hard knocking at the door and neither of you has to question to know exactly who it is. Dave is on his feet and at the door before your fork even hits the plate, so you shrug and sit back down as Karkat and Terezi enter your apartment. You would think the dingy walls enclosed a train station or something, the way everyone comes and goes.  
You notice Dave’s attention lingering momentarily on Karkat and Terezi’s clasped hands, but it isn’t a sad posture he holds. In fact, as he turns to sit down and indicates the sofa to the duo, you swear you can see the ghost of a smile. “To what do we owe the honour?” Dave asks. He’s spent too much time around Rose, you decide. That was a very Rose-esque line.  
“WE NEED YOUR ADVICE.” Karkat is still loud. Shouty little-  
“Keep it down yo. On what?” Dave has this under control. Good. Ten for you, Dave!  
Karkat awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “HUMAN- I mean, human courting.” He remembers to drop his volume. You and Dave share gentle, knowing looks, and a grin begins to bloom on your face. It’s not condescending, or mirthful, it’s just a happy grin. Karkat glares at you, but the effect is rather lost as a human. “WIPE THAT GRIN OFF YOUR FACE, JOHN, I’M TRYING.” There he goes with the shouting again. Terezi leans in to hm to shut him up, and Dave almost laughs at the colour Karkat goes. He manages to stop himself by ungraciously shovelling a forkful of noodles into his mouth. You shoot him a look, a smile, and fuck. There’s a jolt in the back of your mind that you understand completely, and when Karkat next talks it goes straight over your head.

 

* * *

 

Your name is Dave Strider, and Karkat could talk the ear off the Pope.

Well with his language, it would only take a sentence. For that matter, who the fuck is the Pope now anyhow? Did they change the old guy when you were gone? Whatever.

Karkat says Terezi kissed him. _Kissed him_. He says it three times; he doesn’t seem to believe it. Terezi manages to shut his damn mouth by kissing him again and it’s gross, so you turn back to John.  
God damn it, he’s out of it. You wave your hand in front of his face as he stares, unfocused, at the ceiling. He doesn’t respond. Great.  
You’re surrounded by morons.

Dirk and Jake feed you some fairly good info on relationships, which you, in turn, feed to Karkat and Terezi. John gets up suddenly halfway through your feeding of information, and heads into your music room. You can hear dull piano notes, but shrug it off to relay more of the relationship advice to the duo on the sofa.

Terezi and Karkat leave the same way they came in, albeit with a lot less swearing and a general air of gratefulness. You wave at them airily and close the door, locking it before you enter the music room. John is passed out on the piano. Cute.

You snort lightly as you lift him up, it’s a little early for him to be going to bed, but you guess he’s more tired than you are. You set him in the bed, under the covers, then get ready to head out. You, Dave Strider, have a date. A date with a hot waitress.  
Though…  
Looking at John, you’re not sure you really want to go out. You debate telling Ashley- the waitress- that you can’t go out tonight, but eventually you shrug it off and pull on a clean shirt and pants. John can sleep alone for a few hours.

Before you leave, you make sure his phone is in his hand, and you find yourself gently kissing his forehead in an ironically protective gesture. Yes, ironic. Perfect.

 

You meet Ashley a few blocks away, greeting her politely, but with a neutral smile. You take her to dinner- on you, of course- but you just keep checking your phone in case John texts you, and eventually she gets up and storms out in a huff. You pay the bill and leave, because John is waiting for you back at home, and you can not disappoint.

He’s awake when you get home. Curled on the couch with the blanket around his shoulders, and you can still see tear tracks on his cheeks.  
“Shit.” The word escapes you as you rush over, not questioning anything, and take him into your arms. He doesn’t move. He stares. More tears are forming and you hate it. He’s crying and you can’t stop him. So, you do the only logical thing in the situation and turn him to face you. Your shades are off and your walls are down, so you stare him straight in the eyes. You psychologically force him to concentrate on you, only you. Slowly, it begins to work. The manic edge disappears from his expression, and his eyes refocus on yours. You refuse to blink until John is completely sobered up, and no more tears afflict his eyes with their hellish glow. You stroke his hair gently, and the two of you head into bed without a word. There are no words needed. You completely understand one another.

You and John have a relationship closer than anyone you’ve ever met. Not romantically, but also too much to be platonic. Too much for plain friendship. You decide there is no way to describe it, and go to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a month! Wow, I am so sorry!
> 
> But this chapter is a little over 4,000 words, and I enjoyed writing it greatly. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it as much.

AG: Joooooooohn!   
AG: I haven’t contacted you in forever! Answer me!  
AG: Come on John I know you’re there! You’re on a ship in hyperspace!  
AG: What else can you do except sleep and talk to me?

Your name is John Egbert and your phone will not stop buzzing. It’s 8:30 in the morning. _Who_ is bothering you?

You throw the phone into a pile of hoodie at the other end of the room. Crack shot, you congratulate yourself silently. The phone buzzes once more then falls silent for about five minutes. When it buzzes again, you decide to pick it up, though not without a hearty sigh.

AG: There is nothing, John. Answer me! >::::(   
EB: whoa vriska!   
AG:  Finally.   
AG: John why haven’t you come to hang out with me?  
AG: You can’t 8e that 8usy!!!!!!!!  
EB: well,  
EB: its kind of hard!  
EB: we’re not really in the same universe anymore! i think…  
AG: Wait… what? ::::O  
EB: actually yeah, how are you contacting me? I thought you were dead?  
AG: I have my ways :::;D  
AG: 8ut what do you mean?  
EB: what?  
AG: A8out not 8eing in the same universe?  
EB: well the ones who hadn’t died kind of… got swapped? to a different universe.  
EB: we’re not in the session anymore.

Vriska doesn’t reply, so you settle down to sleep.   
Dave wakes you up an hour later by sitting on you, loudly complaining about your buzzing phone.   
Wow! You are one popular guy!  
  
CG: JOHN  
CG: WHAT DID YOU TELL VRISKA?  
CG: WHAT’S GOING ON?

 

TT: John, I would appreciate if you talked to me or Kanaya before telling our dead comrades of our current situation.

 

AG: You just left me here? Alone?  
AG: Okay, not alone, 8ut I have all the morons here John.  
AG: All of them.  
AG: Even Tavros left ::::(

 

If one of them really wants you, they’ll message you again. But, you decide, you better drop Vriska a line. Dave shoots you a strange look when you don’t react to any of his shenanigans, but Vriska needs sorted right now.

EB: oh  
EB: sorry vriska. it wasn’t really planned!

That’ll do.

You get up and mess about with Dave for a little, chuckling as you tackle him to the bed. He’s leaning over you on all fours when there’s a knock at your door, and he gives a yell of pseudo-anger as he rolls off of you. You answer the door whilst he gets dressed, swinging it open to reveal a very wet, very displeased Terezi.  She shoves you out of the way, but not all that unkindly, with a backwards grin.   
She storms into your bedroom, and you hear Dave’s immediate yelp of surprise and “What the _FUCK_ , Terezi!?” accompanied by semi-manic laughter that you assume is Terezi’s. Karkat appears in your doorway as Dave starts ushering Terezi out with various insults.   
You withhold your laughter. It’s a hard task.

After you pull Terezi out of your room, you tell her and Karkat to seat themselves firmly on the couch or so help you God…  
You have to sit against the inside of the door as Dave finishes getting changed. When he’s done, you give a small smile, and hug him. No particular reason, you just felt like it. With his arms pinned to his sides by your hug, Dave looks down at you, baffled. “John?”   
You reply by giving something reminiscent of a twitter, squeeze momentarily, and then let go, bouncing into the other room to a waiting duo of very wet friends.

“Hey Dave!” Terezi gives Dave one of her snickering grins. “How are you?”   
“Fuckin’ perfect, Terezi. Fuckin’ perfect. What the fuck are you doing here? You’re soaking our couch.”  
“Just paying a visit, Coolkid!”   
“I was naked.”

The silence in the room quickly reaches peak tension, and you find yourself rolling in laughter. Dave has to pull you up by your shirt, and you’re red faced and crying as he does. You can’t stop, despite Karkat’s protests that, “IT REALLY WASN’T THAT FUNNY, FUCKASS.”  
Dave thumps your arm. “Cram it Egderp, you got to see the bod too.” It’s a whisper in your ear, but you can feel Dave’s smirk and _fuck_ did that shut you up. You hear Dave’s soft snicker as he pulls away from you, but his hand lingers against the back of your neck for just a split second longer, and your breath catches. Damn.

You cram your hand against your mouth to stifle residual stutters as Karkat takes on a much less annoyed, much more fearful expression. You even see Terezi’s grin falter momentarily, and that prompts you to sit up straight and slam your ass down on the arm of the sofa Dave is sitting on. He doesn’t even shove you. This is serious business. Karkat begins, a sullen whisper so unlike him that you and Dave unconsciously lean in to listen, “We were discussing last night, maybe Gamzee… maybe he came with us? Through the rift.”  
“The rift?” Dave can’t help but to snort a little at the name,  
“Shut up, we were watching _Doctor Who_.” It’s Terezi that counters him, and Dave shuts right up. You feel a pang as you realise that some small part of Dave still holds feelings for the Libra, and drop your gaze to your knees. “We got that a few days ago,” Dave gestures at you with a jerk of his head, one arm resting on the back of the sofa, the other sneaking its way to your shoulders in comfort, “John told me there’s nothin’ to worry about. Chill, Karkat.” Karkat visibly reddens with anger, ready to explode on Dave. You see the latter’s eyes widen slightly behind his shades and raise your own panicked gaze to Terezi, a silent plea for her to help you.   
Terezi comes through for you, albeit with some sappy, romantic shit. She kisses Karkat to stop him, and it works because Karkat mentally melts, turning into the equivalent of a puddle of milk. Maybe something a little thicker. Syrup? Whatever.

“What I _meant_ ,” Dave tries again, calmer, more careful, “is that Gamzee didn’t pay any attention to us really.” He gestures at himself and you, indicating the humans in general, “So he’s not exactly clued up on our customs. He’ll either get himself killed or locked up in some mental asylum. Maybe even the slammer, who knows.” Terezi looks visibly alarmed at the mention of Gamzee getting himself killed, Karkat’s expression mirrors hers. You forgot the two of them had a form of relationship with Gamzee back on the meteor. However, there’s nothing either of you can say to comfort them, so you’re forced to watch as Karkat crumples into a mess of hair and tears whilst Terezi pulls him in toward her. The tactic doesn’t work, and Terezi looks like she’s about to cry too (Which, Dave later informs you, is her “worried” look) and her eyes dart between the two of you and Karkat. Dave slips into the seat next to him, and the trio end up in a big group let’s-comfort-Karkat pile. You abstain, instead heading to the kitchen counter to make a few cups of coffee or tea or something, you don’t really care.

You make two trips back and forth between the sofa and the kitchen counter, forcing all three of the meteor buddies to take hot drinks whilst you sulk in the corner of the room with your own.  
Karkat and Dave are conversing in whispers, punctured with the occasional bro hug.  
That prickles your annoyance.  
Bro hugging Dave is your job.  
And only your job.

You’re glad to see the back end of Karkat as Terezi pulls him through the door, both of the duo now firmly reassured that if Gamzee did end up in your world, he’s royally fucked but should be alive.

“Heheheh…”  
“What are you laughing at, dork?” Dave flicks a glance at you over his shoulder as he sits down on the floor in front of you. You contain laughter as you try to reply, but the giggles still escape. You contain them just long enough to squeak out “Royally fucked-” before collapsing on the couch in fits of hysterics. Dave stares at you for a few seconds before you hear him let out a chuckle. He shakes his head at you idly as you roll around, your laughs now strangled gasps for air punctuated with “Oh my God” every now and then.   
“Dork.”  
“You love it.” You manoeuvre onto your stomach to face Dave, sticking your tongue out at him and his head lolls back onto the cushions to face you. He’s so close; you can see the freckles on his face and his eyes behind his shades. He blinks, and you give a genuine smile, and then tip your head forward to nudge him.  
You end up head-butting his forehead in a lack of balance and the two of you reel, hissing in pain. Congratulations, you’re both idiots.

 

 

Your name is Dave Strider and your flatmate is a moron.

The dorky shit just head-butted you. Right in the forehead. It’s actually so stupid, it’s funny, but you’ve resolved to keep your boundaries up more than before, so you don’t let out the chuckle that stirs in your throat.   
John tips his head in confusion, because that sort of thing would usually extract a smirk from you at the least. You roll your eyes at him, “I kinda find it hard to take anything with a joke after that.” You gesticulate to the door. John grumbles slightly. “What time is it?”  
“The fuck should I know? You got the phone, you fuckin’ check.”   
“Just gone three. They were here for what, three hours?” John sounds out of it, slightly hollow. You grab his shoulder as he goes to sit up. “What’s up, Egbert?”  
A slightly off, dorky grin, “Nothing.”  
“Yeah bullshit bro. C’mon, you gotta tell me this sort of thing.”  You tug him onto your lap, with a lot of effort. “Come on, John. Tell agony aunt Strider what’s wrong.” You pat him lightly on the head, and he wrinkles his nose at you. “Agony aunt? Dude, British.”  
“Don’t avoid the question bro.” you lock your arms around him as he tries to squirm free. He sighs,   
“It’s no big deal, Dave.” You can figuratively see the cogs in his head working as he formulates some lie to feed you, “I just… miss Vriska.” oh could he be more transparent?   
“You’re not foolin’ me bro. But, I get it, you don’t wanna talk about it. If you need me though, I’m never far.” You give him a comforting squeeze and hear his whispered thanks. It’s enough.

“So…” You drawl, dragging your words out to pass the time. You and John have been aggressively creating music for about an hour and a half. Now, the two of you are sitting back-to-back in the centre of the room, staring blankly at the wall or, in your case, staring at the ceiling whilst you tip your head back on to John’s shoulder. His cheek is against your forehead, and it’s such an ironic and comfortable position, you almost stop being bored. Almost.

After about ten minutes of moping on the floor making existential comments, you swing onto your feet, catching John by the back of his shirt before he hits the ground. You give him your most superior grin and offer your other hand to help him up, which he takes, although not without a half-glare. “You know,” he begins tetchily as the two of you venture into the kitchen to grab some food, it’s the tone of voice you know he uses when he wants something. “We should probably visit Roxy and Jane.” You shoot him a half-glare, half-confused-glance. He makes a gun motion and you sigh half-heartedly. Within five minutes, you’ve called Jane to ask her permission and it’s organised. You’ll be heading over in about an hour at six-o-clock. You and John share idle looks and you both understand exactly what you’re planning. You’re both on your feet.   
“Suits?”  
“Suits.”

Dressed in your finest red suit (which mysteriously materialised after you went to piss), you stand by the door, almost to attention. Your hands are clasped behind your back, your chin tilted up and your ever-present shades polished to a high sheen. In silence, you wait for John, who turns up five minutes later in a blue-green suit with his signature Ghost Slime in bright green under the pocket on the right of his chest. You refuse to crack out a smile but you lower your head so he can see the warmth behind the indifferent mask you’re promising. He returns with a smile, not a grin, but a gentle smile. There is emotion in his eyes that shines like the sun, and you offer your arm. He laughs, “We’re just going to visit my sister and… mother?” he catches your eye as you turn from locking the door behind you, and after a moment trying to contain it, he erupts into laughter. You place an arm around his waist to support him and half-drag him down the stairs from your apartment into the all-but-abandoned streets below. If you look up, you can almost see the stars through the orange-pink haze that pollutes the night.

 

You’re halfway to Jane’s house when your own name reaches your ears. Your first reaction is to look at John, but when his name comes too then both of your heads flick in unison to stare down the street to your left.   
Rose and Kanaya stand either side of a dark shape, a limp body. Rose is dressed in bright orange-yellow, not dissimilar to her God Tier outfit. Kanaya has a dress vaguely reminiscent of the one Roxy awoke in, in the signature colours of herself and Rose.   
Both garments are covered in blood.

You think it’s blood. Blood is the word that tumbles from John’s mouth and into your mind. Blood is the word dripping from the limp body. Blood is the purple that glints in the streetlight. Blood is the fuel that pumps through your numb mind as you and John run down the street. Blood is what coats your hands in a purple-red sheen as your hands reach Gamzee’s chest.

He is laid on the floor, distinctly human, but with a grey tinge to his skin that is nothing to do with his Alternian life. John skids down beside you, eyes widened at the sight. He doesn’t know Gamzee, you don’t see recognisation in the emotion that swirls in his blue eyes. You momentarily wish you could escape into his eyes, into the deep world that John contains. But you can’t. Gamzee needs you.   
“We Found Him On The Street.” Kanaya talks as Rose’s gaze turns blank. You know she can see what nobody else can- what happened.  
Through your panicked haze you realise, Gamzee’s arrival is not the same as the others. He is dressed, still, in his fake God Tier outfit. The front, at his chest, is almost shredded. Multiple stab wounds. They don’t appear deep, but you know fine well they changed as Gamzee came through the rift. What wounds are only centimetres deep here would have pierced his back in the Medium.   
His Troll blood still drenches the area around the wounds, a shining purple, but it is littered with the Human blood, red. John has shed his suit jacket and is tearing wads of fabric from his shirt, pressing them against the many wounds that litter Gamzee’s chest. With your own hands drenched in two colours of blood, you drag your phone from your pocket and hastily call the first number that appears, which is luckily Jane. She and Roxy arrive minutes later with bandages and water. Between you all, in the middle of the street, you clean Gamzee up to a fair degree and gently lift him, carrying him to the closest home. Another thing of Jane’s.

Rose trails behind you with that terrified glaze that you are all-too-aware of the meaning for. It means that what is left of her Seer powers are triggering in her mind, and she stares at Gamzee as you lay him on the tile floor of Jane’s large kitchen under bright lights. Her hands gesture meekly as she takes a seat, completely out of it. She and Kanaya are both still drenched in red and purple blood, and Roxy ends up carrying Rose up to her room after the latter faints. Meanwhile, you and Kanaya sit on the side lines, unable to help as Dirk and Jake fiercely fight to stem Gamzee’s bleeding and save his life. Jane is instructing and cleaning, and John is on bandage duty, but for the most part Jake is doing the work, since he’d been alone for the best part of his life on a dangerous island, he was most accustomed to treating wounds.

You fall asleep partway through their frenzied treatment, and don’t wake until morning light seeps through the curtain-cloaked window at the far end of the kitchen. You are resting against John, and vice versa, so you don’t move. You would probably shock him, and it’s impolite to make a loud noise so early in the morning, especially in another person’s house. Bro might have been a dick sometimes, but he was nothing if not polite to anyone that wasn’t you. And, if you were honest with yourself, he was polite to you in his own Strider way. That just happened to include random strife sessions on the roof and katanas in the fridge. He passed all senses of his manners on to you.  
Whilst you are making these internal connections, your eyes scan the room through your shades. Gamzee is laid on the floor, sleeping or unconscious, whichever takes your fancy, but very much alive. Jane is curled up against the counter with blood-stained hands clutching rags and bandages.  
The door creaks open and a green-clad Jade creeps in to ruffle through the fridge. She pulls back with an apple clenched in her teeth, and various other fruits in her hands.  
She blinks in a stunned fashion when she sees you awake, the effect magnified by her thick glasses, and she attempts a grin that doesn’t quite work due to the fact that her teeth are buried in an apple. Smooth move, Harley.  
“Dave!” It’s an excited whisper and you incline your head to show gratefulness at her consideration for your sleeping blue buddy. Buddies? Jane is also asleep, after all. You mouth at her, requesting one of the many apples she is clutching, and she tugs herself on the table to eat after she hands it to you.   
She stares at Gamzee for a little while, since she had been taking one of her miraculous naps when the rest of you had been frantically trying to stop him spewing his death all over Jane’s kitchen.   
Once Jade’s apples have all been eaten by the two of you, she slips off the counter and runs a cloth under cold water, before heading over to Jane. You hiss gently at her- like, literally hiss. It’s low and it’s a warning, but she beams at you gently, and begins to clean the floor around Jane, and Jane herself, all without rousing any of the sleepers in the kitchen.  
Come around ten in the morning, with a fairly clean kitchen, there’s a fair amount of clattering from further away in the house, and Jade flees from the kitchen, producing a gun from somewhere around her waist. You are left to your stone cold lonesome once again.

 

John wakes up during the first round of shooting from Jake and Jade, their echoing whoops jerking him upright. You clamp a hand over his mouth before he can yell, and the momentary shock is enough for him to stop and take in his surroundings. He exhales loudly as you remove and wipe your hand with as much exaggerated disgust as possible, leaving John to roll his eyes at you as he stands up, wobbling slightly. Jane, too, is stirring, but Gamzee remains firmly unconscious. John kneels next to Gamzee and peels back the thin blanket that covered him, to inspect the unconscious guy’s bandages. He turns back to you with a grin, “No bleeding through.”  
Jane groggily gets to her feet around a minute after John whispers this to you, and you ruffle his raven locks with one hand. You suspect it was most likely John’s yelp that roused her, but you aren’t sorry in the slightest.   
“Morning.” She smiles at you and John through sleepy eyes. She blinks at Gamzee, leans to take his pulse, and then she proceeds to head to the door, where you and John follow.

Jake is on the stairs, shooting at Jade, who is rolling along the hallway. It’s a smart move, but by the way Jake shifts onto the banister to shoot some more, you know he’s seen it before. Three yellow pellets bounce off Jade’s arm as she stands, and the two face off, their guns held at the ready, panting heavily. A few seconds passed agonisingly, as you, Jane and John stare at the scene. Jake tipped a smirk at Jade, “We’ve broke even. Last shot wins. Will you break our steadfast truce?” it was a taunt, willing Jade to shoot first. Every muscle in his lower body was tensed to shift at a split second notice. You’ve done enough fighting to know that. Jade glares at him through her thick glasses, and then drops her gun. It bangs loudly against the wooden floor- Jane cringes- and skitters toward Jake. As he goes to pick it up, Jade catches him with a fairly weak right hook. He releases his own gun to move his hand to his face, and Jade scoops them both up with a cocky grin. In a burst of orange and cool, Dirk is there to stand beside Jake, glaring at Jade, “No punching.”  
“It wasn’t a ground rule.” Jade drops her grin to a smile, and fiddles idly with her own gun. Jane disappears into the kitchen, returning within seconds holding a towel-wrapped thing. She hands it to Dirk, who holds it gently against Jake’s jaw. You and John stand forgotten, until there’s a hard, fast knock at the door. You’re at the door before anyone else, because the knock is one you recognise. 

“Hi Karkat!” John waves from behind your shoulder. Karkat’s eyes are red-rimmed, and although you can’t see Terezi’s eyes behind her red glasses, you expect hers are the same. They scan you for any sign of their hate-friend’s state, and you crack a fake but reassuring smile. “He’s fine.”  
Karkat burst into tears.   
Terezi laughs.  
Both of them hug you aggressively and you shoot a look at John over your shoulder. It clearly reads “Fuck My Life” but all he does is laugh as you usher Terezi and Karkat in the door.

Everyone congregates at noon in the kitchen to eat whatever is in. Money is piled to pay for all the stuff Jane’s given you, and she repays it with a quick and delicious meal that is free of nuts. There is pure silence as you eat, and it seems you are ravenous, because the meal is quickly over and Rose is the centre of attention. She shakes her head, because she knows what you all want to know, and she won’t spill the secrets she holds. More seer shit, you’re sure.

But as the chatter between your friends rises to a gentle hum in your ears once more, accompanied my John’s melodic and dorky laugh, you begin to wonder what happened.   
Even more, you begin to wonder if the game could follow you here, even when you thought you were safe.  
If it does, you decide, there is nothing left to do but to die.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long wait because my laptop blew. This is no-where near what the chapter was like originally, oops! Heh, enjoy ;D

“Leave me alone.” Your name is John Egbert and you are hella tired.

You roll over and bury your head in your pillow, but Dave whips away the duvet and whistles at you. “Get up, Egbutt, I have plans for today and you’re a part of ‘em.” he pats your ass, causing you to jump whilst he howls with laughter and drags his ass-hand across his shirt. You physically roll out of bed and onto the floor, laying with one arm across your body whilst you stare up at a fuzzy Dave. You draw his name out over a three-second period and he chuckles, passing you your glasses. You put them on and stare up at his face, he hasn’t yet equipped his shades, so his red eyes are still visibly and they burn with a fondness that belongs to you. Dave extends a hand to help you up, and you take it, hefting yourself onto your feet and yawning your protest at the sudden rush to pump blood around your body. Dave strides across the room and digs through your clean clothes, producing a pair of light coloured pants and a light blue shirt that has a worn texture. It makes it look old. You like it.   
Dave throws the clothes at you, and a few seconds later some fresh underwear hits you in the face. Dave smirks at you, then bows out of the room, carrying his own clothes for the day.

When you enter the main room a few minutes later, you find Dave is absent from the flat, but the keys are still on the kitchen counter and the door is still locked, so there is only one place he can be.  
You make your way to the window and throw it open. “Dave?”  
“Egbert, nice of you to shout. Coming?” a hand appears in front of you, and you take it, allowing Dave to pull you onto the roof.   
“It’s different in sunlight, huh?” a smile plays on Dave’s lips, though you know he’ll never let it bloom. You look around the rooftop, finding yourself smiling for no apparent reason. “Yeah.” you reply, quietly. Dave slings an arm around your neck, across our shoulders, and lets his hand swing inches from your chest. You wonder two things- one; Why did your breath suddenly catch, and two; Did Dave notice the increased pace of your breathing. Even you can feel your pulse fluttering harder than usual, so surely Dave can too?  
Apparently not. Dave stares out across the rooftops of the city, a soft, vulnerable warmth in his eyes. It’s the sort of thing you can read, the sort of warmth that shouts in a whisper, “I am home.” and although he’s not home, in Houston, he’s back on Earth. The fact that he’s in Texas is just an added bonus.   
Pull yourself together, John, you’re staring.   
You try to look away from Dave, but you can’t. You’re enthralled by the way his hair falls ever so slightly across his eyes, which are scrunched up to protect him from the sun. You’re enthralled by the way he bends his fingers to avoid blocking any more of his sight than necessary as he shades the balls of fire that contemplate the warmth of the sun on the hot city roofs. Enthralled by the galaxy of faint freckles across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks, a mild map on creamy skin.   
“John?” Dave finally notices you staring at him, and by the softness you feel in your expression, probably with a lot of fondness. Hell, you can feel a small smile on your damn face. You jerk slightly, raising your left hand from the concrete surface to feign indifference across your face. Dave exhales in an almost-chuckle and shakes his head. He wordlessly gets to his feet and helps you up, speaking only as he lowers you into the flat. “You’re a fuckin’ dork John.”  
“You’ve said about ten times today man.”  
“Only ‘cause it’s true.”  
You bicker for about ten minutes until Dave finally throws up his hands and orders you to leave or so help him he will run you through with the set of apartment keys he holds. You obey with a mock-grudging sigh and wait as he locks the door behind you.

“Are you ever going to take your shades off in public?”  
“Nope.”  
“Aww, why?”  
“Because my eyes are weird, drop it dude.” Dave throws a bottle of lemonade at you, and you catch it in one hand. Sburb certainly improved some things then.   
You are on your way to check on one Gamzee Makara and then Dave says you’re going to get slammed for the night. You looked at him fearfully when he said that. He quickly rectified to drunk.

“Dave? What the motherfuck are you doing all up in here?” Gamzee greets Dave as he enters Jane’s kitchen. Dave looks over his shoulder at Jane with a “what the fuck” forming on his lips. Jane shrugs, “He’s been like this ever since he woke up.”   
Gamzee hops off the table to stand in front of Dave. He’s taller that him by about two inches, so Dave tips his chin up to look at him. “This motherfucker over here says she doesn’t know who Tavros is!” Gamzee dissolves into a small fit of giggles. You think they sound strained and desperate. “Where’s Tavros, Dave?” Gamzee turns his purple-blue eyes on your friend. His voice is strong but breaking. “Where’s Tavros?”   
Dave’s mouth curves downwards. He later tells you that he was seeing the brown blood splashed across the floor of the meteor when he and Rose first arrived. “Dead.” Dave inclines his head with the word. Gamzee lets out a splutter of a laugh. “Dead?” he repeats.  
“Dead.” Dave stares at the floor as giggles erupt from Gamzee. Slow and small at first, but eventually it dissolves into a broken, maniacal laugh that resonates through the house. You can feel a crowd at your back and know it is Jade, Jake, Roxy and Dirk. “Dead.” Gamzee gasps through his laughter, “Dead!”  
“Is he okay?” Jade whispers in your ear. You shake your head.   
Gamzee’s laughter dissolves slowly into tears and you all sit around him as he curls. Roxy holds his hands to prevent him from clawing at his chest and ripping his stitches. Jane pats him hesitantly on the back, explaining in a whisper that she only knew him as a creepy guy who sold her blood potions and threw body parts into her Kernelsprite. Dave replies by telling her he stole and beheaded bodies. Both of them returned to patting Gamzee comfortingly.  
Eventually, Gamzee fell asleep in a puddle of his own tears. Dirk and Jake shifted him onto the sofa-bed in the front room.   
You and Dave leave soon after, wishing Jane and company good luck. “Hide all knives.” Dave advises as he stepped out of the door. Jane salutes.

 

 

“So where are you taking me?” John asks for the thousandth time, kicking at the road beneath his feet.   
Your name is Dave Strider. “I’m taking you to the best strip club I know.”  
This extracts a horrified look from John, but you’re not giving the game away just yet.

You get there just as the top of the sun sinks under the horizon, sending final beams of plum and indigo streaks across the sky. John looks up at the sign. “Dave, this is a fancy restaurant.” he states the obvious. You snort, pull John’s suit out of the paper bag you were carrying, and pass it to him. You pull your own out, deposit the paper bag in the nearest bin, and drag John around the side of the building to change.  
You stare at him once you’re finished, watching as he hops around trying to put his pants on. With nothing to sit on, he almost overbalances about five times until, finally, you sigh and wrap your arms around his waist, smiling as you brush bare skin because John got undressed before getting dressed, not a bit at a time like a normal person. John actually squeaks as you lift him off the ground. “Dave?” it’s high pitched and you feel his skin grow hot. He’s flustered. Cute, and a great set up for the rest of the night. “Put your damn pants on.” you breathe in his ear, and hear his breath catch.   
Honestly, you feel like laughing.  
Okay, maybe it’s a bit cruel exploiting Egbert’s dumb crush on you like this.   
But it’s fun, and it will show him that he’s way out of your league, so you’ll take it.  
Pants firmly in place, John quickly changes into the top half of his suit, and you give him a mock bow, holding out an arm. “Coming, my dear lady?”  
“Oh Dave, I’m swooning.” he replies in a monotonous tone, but laughs afterwards so you know he is joking.

You lead the way into the restaurant, calling up on your reservation. You asked for a table in the middle of the restaurant, so you would have plenty of audience for the event.  
You make sure there is a rose on your table, and gladly order some wine for yourself and John. Oh, this is going to be spectacular.

You shell out some money for your starters, and get on with ordering your main course. John snickers at you when you ask for apple juice. You laugh at him when he spills wine down himself. It’s an all-round great affair.  
As your dessert arrives, you lean across the table. “Hey John. Earth to dork.” you whisper. John makes a sound of acknowledgement as he eats. “Feel like a prank?” his eyes light up at the words. You did a good, but he continues eating. Fine, you can do this yourself.   
You almost feel a flicker of guilt for what you are about to do.   
You clear your throat and stand, making your way around the table to kneel beside John. On one knee.  
John stares at you with eyes wide and cheeks bulging. You easily hide your internal snickering- you’ve had plenty of practice after all. You are beginning to regret this, but go big or go home. If this doesn’t turn him off you, nothing will. You just need him to wake up and realise, you are no good. At least, not in the way he wants. You’re no good at showing anyone affection, really, save for Rose. But that’s because you and Rose have a wonderfully weird relationship that you really wouldn’t swap for anything.   
You reveal the velvet-boxed ring with a small cough. John gulps down the mouthful of pudding he was eating. “Dave?” he squeaks.  
“John.” You don’t bother with the formality because you’re having enough trouble talking and breathing. The tables of people immediately around you stare. John stares at you with panic in his eyes. “We are in Texas.”  
“Obviously, Egbert, I have lived in Texas pretty much my whole life.”  
“It’s illegal in Texas.”  
“We’ll go to Chicago.”  
“Is it even legal there?”  
“Hell I don’t know lets just go.”  
“Yes.”  
There’s a patter of clapping from a few nearby tables, most people turn away, and a few even glare at you. John sits silently, flushed as you’ve ever seen him, so you quickly pay and hoist his ass out of the restaurant before you get stabbed or something.

  
You grab a taxi home.   
“Dave?” John asks quietly, about halfway there.  
“Yeah what?”  
“Were you, uh, were you serious?” you stare at him for a minute until he quickly adds, “About Chicago, I mean?”  
“Oh, yeah. That I was, I already booked the plane tickets for the Christmas holidays. We’re spending Christmas in the windy city man.” You smile at him as what you said clicks in. When it does, he throws himself at you, encapsulating you in his embrace. You decipher a few ‘thank you’s’ in the garble of speech he emits into your suit jacket, and smirk as you return the hug. He seems completely unphased by the fact that you just proposed to him in the middle of a Texan restaurant.

You enter the apartment with John giggling, moonlight is shining in your window onto your couch- upon which sits a silhouette- no, two silhouettes. You stop dead, one arm still around John’s shoulders, staring. There’s a glint of a grin in the moonlight, and a light chuckle, and you know exactly who it is. You flick the lights on and sigh in exasperation. “How did you get in our flat?”  
“Dave, how long have we been friends? You know me.”  
“Did You Not Notice, Your Keys Went Missing When You Got On The Rollercoaster?”  
You stare at Kanaya and Rose in disbelief, “You stole our keys.”  
“Correct.”  
“You have a copy of our key.”  
“That’s Right.”  
“You can get in our apartment whenever you like?” John speaks for the first time since entering the apartment. Rose nods. “Creepy.” John decides before he enters to room to flump beside Rose, who wraps a friendly arm around him for a one-armed hug. After about thirty seconds of staring, you sit next to Kanaya. “Why are you actually here?” you dispel her façade of a pointless visit with a sentence. Rose signs and removes her arm from John, instead drawing closer to Kanaya. “Well, it’s about Gamzee. You know, I know what happened.”  
“I know.” You confirm. Of course you know Rose knows. She was a seer. Of course she knows.  
“Well, I thought I should tell you. However, it’s… complicated.” Rose’s hesitation is brief but clearly displays her emotion. “And it is something I believe everyone should hear, but it is best that I tell you before the others.”  
Rose begins her explanation, using the dynamics of alternate timelines. She speculates that you, the group that returned to earth, are an alternate timeline that will survive because you’re no longer in the claws of the game. She continues, telling you she saw the Alpha Timeline back in the Medium. Aranea, Vriska’s ancestor, has found a way back to life and was mind-controlling Gamzee. To cut a long story short, whilst Gamzee was being mind-controlled, Alpha Terezi stabbed the shit out of him, then Jake did something and a version of Dirk distracted Aranea enough to break her mind control on Gamzee.  
“And just after Gamzee was released, he went back to the nice Gamzee that Karkat used to tell us about.” Rose gestured with her hands to emphasise certain points, “but then he went into a rage- and that’s when a part of him fragmented, and came through to this universe.”   
There was a prolonged silence between you.  
“You saw a lot.” John breaks the sophisticated, tense and totally mature atmosphere.  
“Yes, John. Yes I did.” Rose manages a weak laugh, and although it’s genuine, you can feel the worry behind her. She’s an idiot and she’s your sister and hell do you love her like one.   
You make Rose and Kanaya some tea, because it seems like something they’d appreciate. Tea, as you’ve found, is fairly calming. That being said, you’re not really a fan of it- you prefer the bitter, bracing taste of coffee. It’s a rougher sort of flavour, which is more your area. You’re aware that Rose prefers cleaner flavours, though, so tea seems like her thing.

You deliver both Kanaya and Rose’s drinks with minimal swearing, you only burnt yourself like three times and you’re pretty damn proud. Rose drinks quickly and thanks you, seems she hasn’t had tea in an awfully long time. Kanaya awkwardly sniffs the brown liquid. “What Is This?”  
“It’s called, ‘Tea.’” Rose smiles as she takes another gulp of her own.  
“It Smells… Leafy.” Kanaya comments dubiously. She raises the cup hesitantly to her lips and takes a small sip. Then a few more. Then, she gulps the tea down rapidly. Her tongue runs across her lips to clear away the remains of the tea.   
“I guess you like tea now, huh?” John grins as Kanaya sets the cup on her lap.   
“Yes, It Is Delicious.” Kanaya inclines her head thankfully. “Though I Do Think Rose And I Should Be On Our Way Now. It Is Almost Midnight.” Kanaya gestures outside, where the moon is indeed hanging almost directly above you, judging by the shadows cast by the buildings. You feel the homely feeling descend over you as you stare out of the window at the rooftops. Rose stands to leave, brushing creases from her purple-and-black sweater. You exchange a variety of emotional expressions with her in a few seconds, then escort her and Kanaya to the door.   
You remind her to call before she turns up next time.  
She assures you she will.

John loops his arms around you when you return, huddling into you like a scared puppy. You silently stroke his hair until he falls asleep, with no need to ask what had terrified him so. It’s pretty obvious; the same thing you had wondered thirty-six hours beforehand, the same conclusion you had reached. About Sburb and there is no greater adventure than death and all that shit.   
You continue to brush your fingers through his hair long after John departs from your world and enters the realm of sleep, because his hair is soft, and it’s calming. After a while of the hair-stroking, you even begin to hum. You lose track of how long you do this, and don’t know how long you slept, but you wake in the morning in almost the exact same position you last remember being awake the night before, except instead of a hand in John’s hair, that arm is looped around his shoulder. You shake your fellow awake with as much gentle precision as possible. “John. John, wake up, it’s our last day before Uni.”   
“Dave please.” John wriggles until he faceplants your legs, which are crossed, and therefore he doesn’t break his nose. He lies face down, literal centimetres from your crotch, for a few minutes whilst you try not to shift uncomfortably. Any movement could cause casual but fairly creepy crotch-face meeting, and you would like to avoid that thank you very much.   
“Dave?” John drawls after an awkward, still, silence.  
“What?” your reply sounds irritable but you’re pretty sure it’s down to the fact that your face feels like it’s burning. Oh shit, you can feel John smiling.   
“Let’s get married. Let’s do it. Christmas day.” you can’t help but feel John may have taken in more alcohol than you thought. He sits up to stare at you, battling past your defences with his bright blue eyes to get to the heart of truth he knew you contain.   
Apparently you did not manage to put John off you.   
There is an unspoken understanding of your mutual feelings.  
You pause for a while to stare at him whilst he battles you down ‘til only your heart remains.  
“Fuck no.”  
“What?” John sounds offended.  
“Fuck no! We are not doing it like this. Hold on stay there.” You disappear into the bathroom, fix your hair, your shirt, remove your shades from your pocket to place them on the side and head back in.   
You kneel beside him on one knee and clear your throat. You are doing this right or not at all.  
“John Egbert, we have spent three years apart with no means of contact and they were the worst three years of my life. I’ve seen my ex girlfriend reduced to a drunken stupor, my bro break down to try and be with her and my sister was permanently drunk throughout and ended up being late for her date with her lesbian vampire girlfriend. Every day on that damn meteor I read your letter, and you know what? I honestly thought I’d never see you again. I thought I’d die without telling you what you meant to me. John, you’re my best bro, and fuck it, I love you.” You swear you almost shed a tear as you ran back through your old fears- fears that still plague you in the form of nightmares. “So, I want to… to make sure I never lose you like that again.” Shit, you’re getting emotional. Dave Strider does not do emotional. But, you decide as you see the look on John’s face, this is one time you will.  
“John,” you have to force out the next words, because they’re horribly cliché, but you mean them, “Will you marry me?”  
John actually starts crying. There are actual tears streaming down his face as he accepts.

You call Rose whilst John cleans up and gets changed.   
“Dave, what’s wrong?” Rose answers the call calmly.  
“Rose. Rose help.”  
“Dave?” She sounds slightly more panicked.”  
“Rose I just got engaged.” you spill. There’s a shriek from the other end and a ‘Kanaya! You owe me money!’ before Rose returns to you. “That’s great Dave! We’ll all be there soon.”  
“’All?’” you ask dubiously. Rose snickers evilly and ends the call.   
“John, be presentable, we’re going to have visitors.”

‘Visitors’ turns out to be the whole of the group you arrived with, and Gamzee. Jade even brings you both rainbow-print scarves which you and John promptly mummify her with.   
Talking of you and John, you sit together on the sofa with fingers intertwined, encapsulating the single ring. Jade, after escaping from her “hella gay” bindings (which may or may not have been your quote), sits beside John and grins until he laughs.   
“I told you!” she snickers gently. Both you and John colour lightly in indigance.  
It’s wonderful.

 

You are John Egbert and you are thoroughly enjoying this impromptu party.  
It’s only halfway through, you’re dancing with Jade, laughing. You attempt to spin her around, but since she’s a fair bit taller than you, she ends up falling and dragging you with her. She rolls out of the way, so instead of having a nice, soft, sister-pillow landing, you hit the carpet hard with your face. And it hurts.   
Jade laughs as she watches you sit up. “So have you kissed him yet?”  
You splutter a little and shake your head because a few hours ago you were fighting to keep these feelings hidden, and suddenly you’re engaged and everyone knows.  
Engaged.   
Wow you are getting married.   
“Jade!” You blurt quickly as Jade turns to head to Karkat.  
“John?”  
“Jade, come with us to Chicago for Christmas.”  
“What?” Jade stares at you with one eyebrow raised, confused.  
“We’re getting married at Christmas, in Chicago.”   
“Why Chicago?” Jade asks. You grin.  
“The Windy City.” she laughs in her familiar, Jade-y fashion, and you hug her. She smells like home, and warmth, and family, because that’s what she is to you now. Your family, your only family. “Jade?”  
“Mhm?” Jade hums, you feel the sound vibrate across her chest and bry your face in her hair, clinging tight. “I love you.”

You spend the remainder of your last free day in the company of your friends. You dance to the quiet music emanating from Dave’s phone and docking station. You dance with Jade. You dance with Rose. You dance with everyone. You even manage to coax Karkat into a dance-off to Mambo No. 5 which, surprisingly, Karkat wins. Jade almost collapses with laughter at the look on your face, and Karkat has to rush to hold her up as she doubles over. Terezi sulks in a corner until Gamzee coaxes her to her feet. You hear him apologising repeatedly for what he did. Terezi replies with her own apology, and they even share a brief high-five until Dave whisks Terezi out from under Gamzee’s nose to dance aggressively with her until one of them collapses.   
Kanaya is the next to corner you alone and congratulate you. However, she warns you that Rose is highly protective of Dave, although she’d never admit to it, and to be careful how you tread. You smile at her and cast your gaze over to Dave. “Don’t worry,” you assure her, “I have no plans to let him go.”

They leave late, but the sun isn’t down yet, giving you time enough with Dave to lie on the sofa.   
You lie there, unmoving, at opposite ends with tangled legs for about ten minutes until Dave finally flips himself onto his feet. “Right. No. Come on Egbert.” he heads toward the door as you struggle up.   
“What?”  
“Rings, dork, rings. C’mon.”  
“I have a ring.” You hold up your left hand to display the plain silver band. Dave snorts.  
“It’s a ring but it’s not a  _ring_ , John.” he waves you out of the apartment and locks the door behind you. As you stand in the hallway, he leans across the small distance and kisses you for the first time. It’s short and sweet, the sort of kiss that leaves you content but greedy for more, but you don’t get the chance before he’s gone again. Off down the stairs calling you after him, and you obey.

Dave gets the Breath symbol engraved on his ring, a gold band, and you get the Time symbol on yours. It’s a secret that only your select group will understand, and it seems perfect. It is perfect.   
You get a few odd looks from people in the store, but only one or two seem negative. Mostly, they’re just curious.  
It has been a wonderful day, and you really are having trouble believing it happened. Even as you climb into bed that evening to wrap your arms around Dave, you don’t believe it, and you fall asleep thinking that the morning will come and it will still be Sunday.

The dreams that come that night are only good.


	9. The End

Your name is John Egbert and so much can happen in four months.

So much.

You look down at your suit, then up at Dave’s, and you can’t help but feel a little apprehensive.

But, you decide, when you look over at the rest of the group, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

You expected your first semester at college to be tough, you didn’t expect to make any new friends or meet anyone that caught your attention, but there are some things and some people that can’t be ignored.   
Like the eight extremely familiar faces that sent Karkat running to the nearest toilets in tears.  
Fate has a funny way of finding you, at least that’s what Rose said. You think she’s right, especially as you stare out across the field of your friends.

When you see Terezi with her head on Karkat’s shoulder, when you see Vriska’s hand on hers. When you see the way that Gamzee looks at Tavros, every time looking like he might burst. When you remember that Karkat burst into tears when Sollux introduced himself, you praise your existence and thank the heavens that you got the chance to live again.

You look at your ring and smile as Dave takes your hands and states everything you need to hear in two simple words. The command is given and he kisses you.

And you kiss him back.

 

Your name is Dave Strider-Egbert and you think your last name is amazing.

As John pulls away from your kiss, he smiles, and you feel that overwhelming sense of love that hits you every time you see his dumb face.

The reception breaks apart and you head across the road for your celebratory party, and of course the first song that comes on is How Do I Live, because you planned it that way. You swear you heard John shit himself with excitement when he saw the playlist, and Dave had received a hard kiss before stumbling into bed, leaving his fiancé to check over the rest of the playlist.

Things seem to go pretty normally, but you can feel Egbert quivering in mischievous joy. Dick. He has a prank set up for your wedding day.

 

You fucking KNEW IT.

John collapses on the floor laughing as the song starts and at least half of the people in the room curse loudly. John finds himself being pulled upright by Karkat screaming about “Ruining Dave’s day, fuckwit.” But you put a hand calmly on his shoulder and assure him it’s okay.  
“You. Me. Slow dance.”  
“To the Rickroll song?” John’s eyes have never been wider.  
“You put it on the playlist.” And you sweep him onto the floor to badly slow dance to the fast-paced song. Out of the corner of your eye you can see your sister laughing loudly, one hand clutching Kanaya to stop herself falling, the other weaved into Roxy’s fingers.   
God, you love them.

And you love him.

And, as you sit on the rooftop of your hotel that evening, you’re so glad that you’re here.  
Seeing stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to finish this story since I characterised it terribly but I felt it was unfair to not finish it up smoothly!   
> So here. They got married. The end.


End file.
